Matt Dillon and Anamaria Vartolomei take the Role of Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider in ‘Maria’ First Look

‘Maria’ First Look: The first look of the biographical drama Maria has been revealed as the movie sets a world premiere at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Jessica Palud, the film is based on Vanessa Schneider’s 2018 memoir My Cousin Maria Schneider about the actress Maria Schneider. The film recounts her experiences working on Bernardo Bertolucci’s film Last Tango in Paris (1972) alongside Marlon Brando. 

In the recently unveiled “Maria” first-look image, fans get to see Anamaria Vartolomei as Schneider and Matt Dillon as Brando. In the still,  two are seen getting intimate, which makes the crux of this story that revolves around how a 19-year-old Schneider was imposed in an un-simulated rape scene on the set of Last Tango in Paris by director Bertolucci and Brando.

What is ‘Maria’ About?

In 1972, came an erotic drama film titled Last Tango in Paris. Made under the direction of Bernardo Bertolucci, the film stars Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, and Jean-Pierre Léaud. It portrays a recently widowed American who begins an anonymous sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman. Though the film was commercially successful, its raw portrayal of sexual assault and emotional turmoil led to international controversy and drew various levels of government censorship in different jurisdictions.

While the sexual assault depicted in the movie is simulated, Schneider has said the scene still had a tremendously negative effect on her.

In a 2006 interview, Schneider said that the scene was not in the script and that

When they told me, I had a burst of anger. Woo! I threw everything. And nobody can force someone to do something not in the script. But I didn’t know that. I was too young.

The upcoming film “Maria” is based on that incident and encapsulates how the movie break of a lifetime turned out to be Schnider’s nightmare. The official synopsis of the film reads: “Maria is a young, struggling actress with promise. When an emerging Italian director casts her to headline a new film alongside an American superstar, her dreams are coming true. But what seems like a big breakthrough turns out to be the start of a living hell. That movie is The Last Tango In Paris. The actress is Maria Schneider.”

Speaking about the biographical feature, the director of the film, Jessica Palud, praised Vartolomei. The filmmaker said, “Vartolomei was pivotal as she was going to be in every single shot. I had to be captivated by the main actress to let her carry Maria’s voice.” 

Though Vartolomei tried her best to give justice to Maria’s character, the role came with its own challenges. The filmmaker explained, “Annamaria does have a rare cinematic presence. We rehearsed a lot for several months, worked on emotions, and watched movies together. Ultimately, Maria is a movie about “the gaze. How it can hurt and seriously damage when someone isn’t understood or taken seriously.”

Reflecting on Dillon’s character of Brando, Palud shared that Dillon was her first choice for the role. She said, “I wanted someone who truly embodies Hollywood. Getting into Brando’s skin, who slid into something so violently wrong, was dreadful. It remains an attack that happened in front of people. But no one reacted and continued filming.”

Apart from Vartolomei and Dillon, the movie features an ensemble cast that includes Yvan Attal as Daniel Gélin, Marie Gillain as Marie-Christine Schneider, Stanislas Merhar as Berhmann, Céleste Brunnquell as Noor, Giuseppe Maggio as Bernardo Bertolucci, Jonathan Couzinié as Michel Schneider, and Alexis Corso as Nathan.

Maria will make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival before debuting in theatres at a later date.