After launching from last year’s Venice Film Festival, British director Joe Wright’s high-end TV drama “Mussolini: Son of the Century” is finally reaching audiences in the U.S. via Mubi, which dropped the first episode of the timely series last week.
Based on Italian author Antonio Scurati’s bestselling novel “M,” which traces the birth of Fascism in Italy, the eight-part series reconstructs Mussolini’s ascent with an innovative approach. Luca Marinelli (“The Eight Mountains,” “Martin Eden”) plays the despotic leader between 1919, when the fascist party in Italy was founded, and 1925, when — after gaining power with the 1922 March on Rome — Mussolini made an infamous speech declaring himself a dictator.
“I didn’t really know how to prepare for this role,” Marinelli says in an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip, titled “Becoming M,” which, just like the show, is punctuated by a techno score composed by Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers.
“I tried to distance myself from my own feelings on the subject,” Marinelli adds.
Wright, in an interview with Variety ahead of the drama’s Venice launch, called “Mussolini: Son of the Century” a “howl against the current rise of the far-right.”
“I was aware that we needed to convey the seductive qualities of Mussolini, but I never wanted the audience to be seduced by him,” he said. “We employ moments where we empathize with him, we humanize him. And then we kind of pull the rug from the audience’s feet and ask them to employ a certain level of critical distance.”
“Mussolini: Son of the Century,” which played positively on Sky in Italy and the U.K. prior to its U.S. bow, is produced by Sky Studios and Lorenzo Mieli for the Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle company. It was made in co-production with Pathé, in association with Small Forward Productions and in collaboration with Fremantle, Cinecittà S.p.A. and Sky.
Watch the full behind-the-scenes clip above.
