Matt Dillon is taking on the legacy of Marlon Brando for a biopic about the making of Bernardo Bertolucci’s controversial “Last Tango in Paris.”
Dillon portrays Brando alongside Anamaria Vartolomei as Maria Schneider for Jessica Palud’s upcoming “Maria,” which is set to debut at Cannes later this week in the Cannes Premiere section. “Maria” follows Schneider’s life after starring in “Last Tango in Paris” at age 19, during which she filmed an unsimulated rape scene with Brando in 1973 at director Bertolucci’s (Giuseppe Maggio) instruction. The film is based on Vanessa Schneider’s 2018 memoir “My Cousin Maria Schneider,” which was translated by Molly Ringwald.
Per the memoir, Bertolucci did not tell Schneider the full extent of the film’s plot until right before production. Schneider allegedly was unaware of the pivotal scene in which Brando’s character anally rapes her character using a stick of butter as lubricant. Schneider died in 2011. Bertolucci refuted any claims of nonconsent.
The official synopsis for “Maria” 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.”
Yvan Attal, Marie Gillain, Stanislas Merhar, Céleste Brunnquell, Jonathan Couzinié, and Alexis Corso also star in the film. The film is produced by Marielle Duigou at Les Films de Mina.
Director Palud told Variety that Dillon was her “first choice” to play Brando. “I wanted someone who truly embodies Hollywood,” Palud said. “Getting into Brando’s skin who slid into something so violently wrong was dreadful. It remains an attack that happened in front people. But no one reacted and continued filming.”
Palud explained that “Maria” is a film about “the gaze” on actresses and “how it can hurt and seriously damage when someone isn’t understood or taken seriously.”
“Maria” will premiere at Cannes with Studiocanal handling international sales. Haut et Court will release the film in France on June 19. Check out the first look above.
