‘Being Maria’ Review: The Making Of ‘Last Tango In Paris’ & How 19-Year-Old Maria Schneider’s Dream Big Break With Brando Turned Into A Nightmare – Cannes Film Festival
deadline.comThere has been a lot of noise at this year’s Cannes Film Festival about France’s accelerated MeToo movement, particularly by female cinema stars leading the charge.
So whether coincidental or not, the world premiere in the Cannes Premiere section last night of Being Maria (aka Maria) seemed like perfect timing and more relevant than ever Jessica Palud directs and co-wrote the screenplay with Laurette Polmanss (inspired by cousin Vanessa Schneider’s 2018 book) focusing on the life of actress Maria Schneider, who at age 19 was cast in 1973’s notorious sexual drama Last Tango In Paris, a scandal-riddled production from director Bernardo Bertolucci and starring Marlon Brando that got so heated the stars and director were even threatened with six months jail time in Italy upon its release, even as critics hailed the film as a masterpiece.
Long before MeToo and the focus on treatment of women in Hollywood, Schneider became an advocate for actresses caught up in similar situations like she was: a newcomer who was exploited by the powerful males in charge, in this case by both Brando and particularly Bertolucci, who deviated from the script without telling Schneider, resulting in at least one improvised scene that bordered on rape, as seen in retrospect by the young and inexperienced female lead.
Anamaria Vartolomei plays Schneider and goes from a young teenager living under a non-supportive mother (Madie Cyllain) who had no faith in her daughter, causing Maria to leave home at 15 and head to Paris where she landed roles as an extra in some films and TV shows, and eventually secured an agent, and even a few roles here and there including in one Alain Delon movie.
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