Being Maria

"The true story of Maria Schneider behind the making of Last Tango in Paris."

2024 1h 40m FR

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 73

HistoryDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young, struggling actress lands her dream role in a film by an emerging Italian director, starring alongside an American superstar. What begins as her big breakthrough quickly turns into a living hell.

“The true story of Maria Schneider behind the making of Last Tango in Paris.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Anamaria Vartolomei
Maria Schneider
Céleste Brunnquell
Noor
Matt Dillon
Marlon Brando
Marie Gillain
Marie-Christine
Yvan Attal
Daniel Gélin
Stanislas Merhar
L'agent
Jérémy Charvet
Pointeur
Giuseppe Maggio
Bernardo Bertolucci

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jessica Palud
Writers: Jessica Palud, Laurette Polmanss
Languages: Italian, French, English
Countries: Belgium, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Belgium, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jessica Palud, shot by Sébastien Buchmann. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Thomas Marchand shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Anamaria Vartolomei and Céleste Brunnquell and Matt Dillon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The true story of Maria Schneider behind the making of Last Tango in Paris.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt19995770 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jessica Palud directs. Sébastien Buchmann behind the camera. Thomas Marchand cuts. Produced in Belgium, France. Dialogue in Italian, French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 2 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, French, English.
3International production across 2 countries: Belgium, France.
4Directed by Jessica Palud, shot by Sébastien Buchmann. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Thomas Marchand shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Anamaria Vartolomei and Céleste Brunnquell and Matt Dillon carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The true story of Maria Schneider behind the making of Last Tango in Paris.".
8IMDB entry: tt19995770 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 73 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "biography", "based on true story", "sexploitation", "docudrama".

The technical file

Cinematography: Sébastien Buchmann
Editing: Thomas Marchand
Costume design: Alexia Crisp-Jones
Makeup / hair: Karine Meyer
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Status: Released
Original language: FR
Certification (US): R 18+
IMDB: Being Maria (2024)

Also by

Jessica Palud

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Brent Marchant2025-05-03
★ 8/10
In an age when rights and protections for women are increasingly being placed in jeopardy, their preservation is imperative, and nowhere is this more apparent perhaps than in writer-director Jessica Palud’s latest feature. In this flashback to a time when things were very different for women, the filmmaker places the spotlight on the sexist, demeaning demands that were placed on actress Maria Schneider (1952-2011) (Anamaria Vartolomei). Schneider’s big career break came at age 19, when she was cast opposite screen legend Marlon Brando (Matt Dillon) in “Last Tango in Paris” (1972), the highly controversial hyper-erotic feature from director Bernardo Bertolucci (Giuseppe Maggio). What should have been a tremendous opportunity for the aspiring actress turned nightmarish when Bertolucci changed the nature of the film’s ending without informing Schneider of what it entailed, a move allegedly aimed at getting as “natural” a performance out of her as possible. Shockingly, that change in plans resulted in one of cinema’s darkest and most disturbing moments, when Schneider was subjected to a degrading act of debasement that affected her deeply, not only as shooting was wrapping up, but also afterward in both her professional and personal life. Her reaction was indeed “natural” in that it evoked severe fear and anguish in her (and among audiences) as it played out, ostensibly depicting an act of rape that appeared so authentically that it was difficult to believe it was merely simulated. In the wake of this outrageous atrocity, many filmgoers scorned Schneider for lascivious on-screen behavior (none of which originated with her), and she was subsequently only offered roles primarily built around the perception she was little more than a sex object, developments that Schneider spoke out about publicly but was quickly silenced by the movers and shakers in the male-dominated movie industry. In turn, these incidents troubled her so profoundly that she sought refuge as a heroin addict, subsequently experiencing financial difficulties and strained relations with her partner, Noor (Céleste Brunnquell), and her staunchly supportive Uncle Michel (Jonathan Couzinié), the only relative who stood by her through these crises. And, even though Schneider managed to steadily find work in mostly smaller roles throughout much of the remainder of her career, she was never the same person she was before the trauma she underwent on set. This offering thus presents viewers with a disturbing cautionary tale not only about what happened to the actress, but also of what women often had to endure at the time, conditions that, sadly, could be making a resurgence as safeguards protecting them against such treatment are being systematically dismantled. Because of that, “Being Maria” makes for a very disturbing watch at times, a picture sure to provoke justified outrage among viewers. In telling Schneider’s story, the filmmaker has crafted an edgy but engaging work that features superb performances by leads Vartolomei and Dillon, as well as by Maggio as the creepy director who spawned these despairing developments. Admittedly, there are times when the pacing here could stand to be a bit brisker, but that’s a small consideration in the face of everything else that this release gets right. To be sure, one might not feel comfortable in watching this biopic, but, then, that’s the point of it – showing the unspeakable indignities that this woman faced and that society should do all it can to prevent from happening again.

Production companies