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Last week, Venice Film Festival attendees had the chance to watch M. Son of the Century, the new television series from the acclaimed filmmaker Joe Wright (Darkest Hour). Set in the 1920s, the series follows the life and early political career of one of the most controversial figures in history: Benito Mussolini, played by Luca Marinelli (The Old Guard). The series is set to premiere in 2025, but Collider is thrilled to unveil an exclusive sneak peek that reveals why Marinelli’s performance as the famous dictator has been receiving so much praise from critics.
If Wright’s intention was to transport viewers back to the early 1920s, the sneak peek suggests that he certainly managed to do so. In it, we get to see Mussolini delivering a passionate speech and being filmed while he does it. He’s applauded enthusiastically after he finishes, and then a close-up shot reveals all the details of Marinelli’s characterization as the title character. He looks confident, sleep-deprived, and a bit lunatic.
Those aspects are probably essential for the moment depicted in the scene: the early days of Italian fascism and the time that Mussolini founded the authoritarian party with ample support of criminals and psychopaths. Despite these shady connections, the dictator also rose in popularity due to his charisma and populism — a strategy that is copied by politicians to this day.
Joe Wright Highlights Importance of ‘M. Son of The Century’
Speaking with Collider’s Maggie Lovitt over email, Wright spoke about the connection between the series and the present, detailing why it was so important to tell this story now:
“Growing up in the U.K. in the ’70’s and ’80’s ‘Fascist’ was a prerogative term used against any figure of authority. I’d call my teachers ‘Fascists’, the police ‘Fascists’, Margaret Thatcher a ‘Fascist’! But with the rise of the populist Far Right around the world in recent years I felt it was my responsibility to educate myself on the roots of that word. To make sense of how we got where we are, and where we go from here.”
Wright also revealed that he used important cinema titles and cultural movements in order to come up with the aesthetic of the film, citing Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera, Howard Hawks’ Scarface, and “’90’s rave culture” as some of his biggest influences for the series.
“Mussolini directly addresses [the] camera throughout the show, allowing us an intimate perspective of a man who deceived everyone, from family to [the] nation and the world,” Wright explained. The sneak peek underscores that, and the director further elaborated, “The first scene of the first episode in which Mussolini formally announces the formation of the Fascist Party. Prior to this, he has introduced us to a gallery of scarred veterans [from] WWI whose resentments Mussolini will exploit to further his own ambitions.”
M. Son of The Century debuts in 2025 exclusively on Sky and streaming only on NOW. A specific release window for the episodes has yet to be announced. You can watch our exclusive sneak peek above.
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