Fascism seems like one of those much-debated concepts that have been around since the first empires, older than a potluck. Yet, while the Spartans and Napoleon III may have been practicing without preaching it much earlier, it wasn’t until the period around World War I when the notion became a name, fascismo, rooted in the Latin fasces, or a bundle of sticks. It’s fitting that the word arose after the global violence of the Great War, and after all the intellectual forces which thoroughly deconstructed human perception and paved the 20th century as a confusing, harrowing landscape — Darwin and Freud, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, Eisenstein and Picasso, Debussy, Bartók, and Webern. Another name should be added to those, despite its dumb cruelty — Mussolini, the protagonist of director Joe Wright’s new historical epic series, M – Son of the Century.
Pause there if you’re thinking, “Oh, a history lesson from the guy who made those super-duper-British romantic period dramas, you know the ones, Pride & Prejudice (2005), Atonement (2007), Anna Karenina (2012), and Cyrano (2021). I think my mind’s already made up about this, thanks.” Reader, you don’t know what you’re missing. There are no secretly blushing Keira Knightleys to be found in this new miniseries. As Wright (in a very accurate self-diagnosis) told the Italian newspaper Avvenire:
I wanted to show what it was like to live in that period through a very contemporary aesthetic, at the intersection of Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Camera, Scarface, and the rave culture of the nineties. I made a collage between black and white and acid, extreme colors.
It’s scored by a member of The Chemical Brothers, for God’s sake (who Wright worked with on his underrated anomaly, Hanna). It’s a thumping banger of a show, a nasty, funny, evil thing that utilizes the disturbing power of artistic perspective to warp your mind. You’ll find yourself rooting for fascism and falling for Benito, just as we did with Alex in A Clockwork Orange, and that’s the point — to see how easy it is to become swept up in all this blood and glory. M – Son of the Century is an exhilarating, upsetting masterpiece. The only problem is that there isn’t enough.
M – Portrait of the Fascist as a Young Man
Aside from all the men I named before and how their work inadvertently set the stage for fascism by permanently disrupting how humanity sees itself, it was post-war politics and economics that really kicked Mussolini, and thus fascism, into gear. Son of the Century is about as good a title for this as any.
M – Son of the Century focuses on a very specific period in Mussolini’s life, essentially the transformational years during which he morphed from a man named Benito Mussolini to The Mussolini. He becomes an infamous figure, suffers a humiliating defeat, weasels his way into actual politics, exploits the economic anxiety and dissatisfaction of the working class, betrays and hurts people around him, and sets himself up to be the violent successor of the socialists. All that between 1919 and 1925. (We want more).
Stefano Bises and Davide Serino adapted the book by Antonio Scurati which covers the same period, the first in his M. tetralogy. We only hope Joe Wright and team (or some other daring filmmakers) will make a second installment. Despite ending long before the events for which he’s most known, the show itself is perfect and encapsulates an emotional and aesthetic understanding of fascism. By focusing on that transition from Benito to Il Duce, Wright and company elaborate on the old questions of fascism — how does it begin, and how does it persist? Why does hatred triumph? With an understanding of this, the series suggests, people in the present can pinpoint the orange rise of fascism in their own time.
Luca Marinelli Worms Mussolini Into Your Heart
In the first shot of the show, the man is drenched in blue light, facing us with his eyes shut. They open as the light shifts, like a curtain opening, and Mussolini begins breaking the fourth wall and speaking passionately and humorously to us (which he’ll do throughout; Brecht started popularizing it around that time, so hey, it makes sense).
The audience becomes Mussolini’s confidante in this way, and is crucial in manipulating our sympathy and loyalty to him. We accompany him as he speaks poetically about Italy, the war, his plans, his newspaper, and fascism, and we watch him ascend the stage in front of an assembly of his men, then barely 200, a bloody, budding baby of a movement. He stands and orates like George C. Scott at the start of Patton, and you feel a similar sense of respect and intimidation towards the man.
With help from the artisans in the film crew and makeup departments (where the actor spent two hours a day), credit goes to an unrecognizable Luca Marinelli for an astounding portrayal of Il Duce. Bald and made up with an extra 20 to 30 pounds on him, Marinelli welcomes us into Mussolini’s arms and makes us laugh and think. Even after he commits the most disgusting and abhorrent acts, you can’t help but stay in his corner. Which is a scary thing, but good for the show; after all, we’re stuck with him (then and now). This is how the show passes on its understanding of fascism.
A Perfect Blast of Political Cinema Will Have You Asking Questions
There is much more to be said about M. Son of the Century, but it’s really just a series that should be not just watched but imbibed. Its ravishing style, impeccable production and costume design, wonky cinematography, killer score, great performances, and delirious editing are on display in almost every shot. Call it over-the-top or call it maximalism (or even futurism) — whatever it is, it somehow doesn’t get tiresome, perhaps because it so adequately reflects the restless throbbing changes which were happening at the time. It depicts it then and it feels like now.
Yes, the show is coming from a very basic political bias (center-left mainly), so its sometimes unsubtle allusions to the rise of far-right extremism across the world may annoy some conservative viewers, as most art with sociopolitical themes will. You may even just be bothered that M – Son of the Century got you empathizing with a fascist. But if that’s you getting upset, instead of cursing out the show and/or shutting it off, why not sit with that and think, why did it anger you? Who did it hurt, and are you protecting them? Who are you beholden to? Have they shut your doors to other sounds and thoughts? Have they not lost their charm? And what’s so strong about them and the infinite scorn in their hearts?
M – Son of the Century is a production of Sky Studios, Pathé, Small Forward Productions, Fremantle, Cinecittà SpA, and The Apartment Pictures, and was screened at the Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival. It is set to air exclusively on Sky and stream on NOW in 2025. Watch this space for information on when and where to watch it yourself.
