Maria

I looked for (and managed to) see , at the first opportunity 'Being Maria', the film that Jessica Palud directed and co-wrote about the biography of Maria Schneider and how her role in 'Last Tango in Paris' influenced her life and career. I knew that the film was based on the book by Vanessa Schneider - Maria's cousin - and that therefore I could expect not only a rigorously documented script but also a close and empathetic perspective on the actress. I was curious to see how the changes in attitudes related to nudity, sex and the roles of women on screen that took place between 1970 and our post-me-too days are reflected. Finally, I was curious to see how Anamaria Vartolomei, a beautiful and talented actress, copes with this complex and difficult role. On this occasion, I also learned an anecdotal-biographical detail that I did not know: Maria Schneider's mother was originally from Romania, as are Anamaria Vartolomei and her parents.

As a biopic, 'Being Maria' is a little different than I expected. The screenwriters and director chose to focus on the filming of Bertolucci's film and the famous rape scene. They managed to build a convincing feminist plea based on the actress's accounts of what happened on set and tried to demonstrate that everything that followed in her life and career was determined by that moment. And yet, in parallel with the failures in her personal life, with the psychological instability and drug addiction, there were artistic comebacks and overcoming of depression and trauma in Maria Schneider's later life and career. She created several remarkable roles and worked with directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni, René Clément and Jacques Rivette, among others. Drawing on her own experience, she became a campaigner for equal rights for actresses and for the necessary support for older actors and filmmakers. Her post-Tango life was marked by trauma and struggles with her problems, but it was not a total disaster.

I liked the first part of the film the most. Maria was born from an extramarital affair of her father (a fairly well-known actor) who never assumed paternity. The scenes depicting Maria's relationships with her mother who raised her as a single mother, but also with her father and his 'traditional' family are excellent, also benefiting from the subtle interpretation of the father's role by Yvan Attal. Even though the reason why Bertolucci (played by Italian actor Giuseppe Maggio) chose her for the role in 'Last Tango in Paris' is not clarified, the scenes on the set manage to reconstruct the atmosphere of the filming and convincingly reproduce the context, the circumstances and the reactions of the main characters in the most famous and infamous scene of the film. Matt Dillon does one of the best roles of his career, in my opinion, bringing to life on screen Marlon Brando, a great actor who was also struggling with his own demons and who was actually starting here the slide down the slope of physical and personal decline. Anamaria Vartolomei was not only very good but even exceeded my expectations - she is beautiful, complex, vulnerable, revolted. If she will be blessed with roles on a par with the one in this film, she will become one of the stars of her generation. Unfortunately, in 'Being Maria', as in the heroine's life - as presented in the film -, everything that follows 'Last Tango in Paris' disappoints. The downward slope of Maria's life and career is described in gloomy tones and almost all the situations we see from a moment on are predictable because we have seen them in dozens of other films. Maria Schneider's biography itself, actresses dignity on the screens and the power to say NO deserved a more articulate plea from an artistic point of view. The film is, however, worth watching and debating.

Matt Dillion does an uncanny impersonation of Marlon Brando...but that's all it ever is and never offers much more than a caricature. The story is told in a flat and uninspired style and has no real energy, especially given its scandalous subject matter. Watching reenactments of scenes from Last Tango In Paris are cringeworthy. Although this film was derived freely from Maria Schneider's cousin she was not present at the filming and everyone involved are now dead and these scenes might be fabricated by the director. I do believe she experienced abuse on set and the infamous "Get me the butter" scene is very hard to watch and Bertolucci probably took advantage of her inexperience to get reactions that a more experienced actress would have brought without being coerced into. It's sleazy. But the film never rises above the level of overblown melodrama. I know little about Maria Schneider other than a drug problem that got so bad at one point that it cost her a part in the Luis Buñuel film That Obscure Object of Desire. This should have been a compelling story but it's just so bland and by-the-numbers in its telling. I would have rather seen a documentary about the film and the subsequent reaction following its release. Sadly, no one is around to tell their story.

An emotion-charged expose of exploitation and coercion. Bertolucci and Brando literally groomed Maria Schneider into trusting them and then they raped her. Both of them are criminals not artists and the evil and narcissism on display in this film makes your skin crawl. Schneider thought she was working with "artists" and trusted these two disgusting egomaniacs who used her and threw her away like a piece of exposed celluloid. The reenactment of the rape scene is still harrowing and shot to protect Anamarie Vartolomei unlike the original which is shockingly disgusting. Brando is a big fat ugly monster and Matt Dillon could have gone deeper to reveal the truly demented psychology behind his so-called "genius". Bertolucci enjoyed watching her violation and his vicious voyeurism destroyed her life. He never warned her or apologized or took any responsibility for the aftermath his pretentious and violent film left her to struggle through. Both of these men should have served jail time for what they did to MARIA SCHNEIDER. Kudos to the filmmakers for revealing the dark underside of LTinP and the frauds that Brando and Bertolucci are.

Chewed up and spat out by the horrific practices of the past.

A very interesting movie about Maria Schneider and the aftermath of her mistreatment at the hands of Marlon Brando and Bernardo Bertolucci during the filming of Last Tango In Paris.

The lead actress is excellent as the titular character but like all biographical films it ends up being a whistle stop tour of her live. Informative though it is.

The movie is well made and captures the oeuvre of the day.

The rest of the cast is fine and Schneider's downfall is played with respect and honesty.

The movie does miss out a couple of points in her life. Namely her promiscuity as a budding actress is glossed over to make the assault caught on camera all the more shocking. Also her later life consisted of campaigning to get actors more protection from devious directors and producers that prey upon the young and vulnerable.

Anamaria vartolomei is maria schneider, the actress who starred in bertolucci's "last tango in paris". With a violent, sexual scene, which she says was a complete surprise to her. Her co-star is matt dillion as brando. It was ahead if its time. Controversial, and a bit of a scandal at the time. Maria says that she was totally blindsided by the sexual scene, but only she, brando, and bertollucci know exactly what happened. Bertolucci was charged with indecency in italy. They were also doing many drugs at the time, as is well documented. Although they appear to have placed the drug addicts in a facility with the mentally challenged folks. It's mostly good. With french subtitles. Based on the story by maria's cousin. Currently showing on kanopy streaming. Directed by jessica palud. Sadly, schneider died young at 58, in 2011.