Being Maria

{{Infobox film

| name = Being Maria

| image = Maria 2024 film poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Jessica Palud

| screenplay = {{Plainlist|

Jessica Palud
Laurette Polmanss

}}

| based_on = {{Based on|My Cousin Maria Schneider|Vanessa Schneider}}

| producer = Marielle Duigou

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| cinematography = Sébastien Buchmann

| editing = Thomas Marchand

| music = Benjamin Biolay

| studio = {{Plainlist|

Les Films de Mina
StudioCanal
Moteur S'il Vous Plaît
Cinema Inutile

}}

| distributor = Haut et Court

| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2024|5|21|Cannes|2024|6|19|France}}

| runtime = 102 minutes

| country = France

| language = French

| budget =

| gross = $2.3 million{{cite Box Office Mojo|id=19995770|title=Being Maria (2024)|access-date=23 March 2025|publisher_hide=yes}}

}}

Being Maria ({{Langx|fr|Maria|links=yes}}) is a 2024 French biographical drama film directed by Jessica Palud{{cite magazine|last=Croll|first=Ben|date=15 January 2024|title='Being Maria': Anamaria Vartolomei and Matt Dillon on 'Challenge' of Embodying Maria Schneider and Marlon Brando in Upcoming Biopic (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/matt-dillon-anamaria-vartolomei-being-maria-maria-schneider-marlon-brando-biopic-1235869203/|magazine=Variety|access-date=30 April 2024}} from a screenplay by Palud and Laurette Polmanss, freely adapted from Vanessa Schneider's 2018 memoir My Cousin Maria Schneider. It is about the actress Maria Schneider (1952–2011) and dramatizes her experiences working on Bernardo Bertolucci's feature film Last Tango in Paris (1972). It stars Anamaria Vartolomei in the title role, with Céleste Brunnquell, Giuseppe Maggio, Yvan Attal, Marie Gillain, Jonathan Couzinié and Matt Dillon in supporting roles.

It had its world premiere in the non-competitive Cannes Premiere section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2024. It was theatrically released on 19 June 2024 by Haut et Court.

Plot

19-year-old Maria Schneider, daughter of French actor Daniel Gélin, features in the 1972 erotic drama Last Tango in Paris by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci. In the work she stars alongside the celebrated American actor Marlon Brando. The story follows an older American man who meets a young French woman in an apartment in Paris where they begin an anonymous sexual relationship. Maria becomes a star overnight through the role of Jeanne, but is unprepared for the fame and scandal that the film triggers.

Cast

Anamaria Vartolomei as Maria Schneider
Céleste Brunnquell as Noor
Giuseppe Maggio as Bernardo Bertolucci
Yvan Attal as Daniel Gélin
Marie Gillain as Marie-Christine Schneider
Jonathan Couzinié as Michel Schneider
Matt Dillon as Marlon Brando
Stanislas Merhar as Berhmann
Alexis Corso as Nathan

Production

Jessica Palud and Laurette Polmanss freely adapted the film's screenplay from Vanessa Schneider's memoir My Cousin Maria Schneider, which was published in 2018 by (Éditions Grasset).{{cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/443234/|title=Jessica Palud's Maria is currently rolling|last=Lemercier|first=Fabien|date=1 June 2023|website=Cineuropa|access-date=30 April 2024}} Marielle Duigou produced the film for Les Films de Mina, with co-production by StudioCanal, Moteur S'il Vous Plaît and Cinema Inutile.{{cite magazine|last=Simon|first=Alissa|date=26 May 2024|title='Being Maria' Review: A Poignant Dive Into the Turbulent Life of Actor Maria Schneider|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/being-maria-review-1236016826/|magazine=Variety|access-date=10 June 2024}}

Principal photography began on 29 May 2023 in Paris. Filming continued in the Brittany region. With a total of 25 days of shooting, 10 days took place in the Ille-et-Vilaine department including in Rennes and Saint-Germain-du-Pinel, and at the Château d'Apigné in Le Rheu, the Résidence Oberthür in Rennes, and a beach in Dinard. Filming wrapped in Brittany on 30 June 2023. Post-production took place in Rennes.{{cite web|url=https://actualitte.com/article/112523/adaptation/clap-de-fin-pour-le-tournage-de-tu-t-appelais-maria-schneider|title=Clap de fin pour le tournage de Tu t'appelais Maria Schneider|last=Picard|first=Zoé|date=5 July 2023|website=ActuaLitté|language=fr|access-date=30 April 2024}}{{cite news|last=Heymelot|first=Charlotte|date=28 June 2023|title=Choisie comme décor de film, Rennes fait son cinéma pour raconter Maria Schneider|url=https://www.ouest-france.fr/bretagne/rennes-35000/choisie-comme-decor-de-film-rennes-fait-son-cinema-pour-raconter-maria-schneider-4b5e4656-14ec-11ee-84f1-0960f4dbada5|newspaper=Ouest-France|language=fr|access-date=1 May 2024}} Anamaria Vartolomei described it as the most difficult role she has filmed for and said she experienced an "emotional release" when production concluded.{{cite magazine|last=Chèze|first=Thierry|date=25 February 2024|title=L'Empire vu par Anamaria Vartolomei|url=https://www.premiere.fr/Cinema/News-Cinema/L-Empire-vu-par-Anamaria-Vartolomei|magazine=Première|language=fr|access-date=1 May 2024}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/being-maria-review-maria-schneider-marlon-brando-matt-dillon-1235905819/|title='Being Maria' Review: 'Last Tango in Paris' Star Maria Schneider Gets a Behind-the-Scenes Biopic That Starts Strong but Fizzles Out|last=Mintzer|first=Jordan|date=21 May 2024|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter}}

Release

The film was selected to be screened in the non-competitive Cannes Premiere section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 21 May 2024.{{cite web|url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2024/the-screenings-guide-of-the-77th-festival-de-cannes/|title=The Screenings Guide of the 77th Festival de Cannes|date=8 May 2024|website=Festival de Cannes|access-date=8 May 2024}}

The film was theatrically released on 19 June 2024 by Haut et Court.{{cite web|url=https://www.hautetcourt.com/films/maria/|title=Maria|publisher=Haut et Court|language=fr|access-date=30 April 2024}} International sales are handled by StudioCanal (formerly Orange Studio).{{cite web|title=Studiocanal Unveils First Image of Matt Dillon, Anamaria Vartolomei as Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider in Jessica Palud's Cannes Movie|website=Variety|first=Elsa|last=Keslassy|date=10 May 2024|access-date=10 May 2024|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/studiocanal-matt-dillon-anamaria-vartolomei-marlon-brando-maria-schneider-jessica-palud-cannes-1235998596/}}

Critical response

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|62|6|29||ref=yes|access-date=16 April 2025}} Being Maria received an average rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 26 reviews.{{cite web|url=https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-299083/critiques/presse/|title=Critiques Presse pour le film Maria|website=AlloCiné|language=fr|access-date=10 August 2024}}