Miss Marx
This article may incorporate text from a large language model. (September 2025) |
| Miss Marx | |
|---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Susanna Nicchiarelli |
| Written by | Susanna Nicchiarelli |
| Produced by | Marta Donzelli Gregorio Paonessa |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Crystel Fournier |
| Edited by | Stefano Cravero |
| Music by | Gatto Ciliegia contro il Grande Freddo Downtown Boys |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | 01 Distribution (Italy) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Countries | Italy Belgium |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $625,370[1][2] |
Miss Marx is a 2020 biographical period drama film written and directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli. An English-language co-production between Italy and Belgium, the film stars Romola Garai as Eleanor Marx and Patrick Kennedy as Edward Aveling.
Miss Marx had its world premiere in the main international competition section at the 77th Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2020. At the festival, Miss Marx received several accolades, including the FEDIC Award for Best Film, the Soundtrack Stars Award for Best Soundtrack, and the La Pellicola d'Oro Award for Best Dressmaker.
Plot
[edit | edit source]Eleanor Marx, the youngest daughter of Karl Marx, emerges as a prominent figure in the socialistic movement in the United Kingdom. A committed activist, she dedicates her life to workers’ rights, women’s emancipation, and the abolition of child labor. In 1883, she meets Edward Aveling, a playwright whose charm masks selfishness and financial irresponsibility. As Edward squanders the inheritance left to Eleanor by Friedrich Engels, he gradually drains her emotional and psychological strength as well.
Despite her advocacy against patriarchal oppression, Eleanor finds herself trapped in a similarly oppressive relationship, unable to reclaim her own happiness. A pivotal moment occurs when Eleanor and Edward perform a scene from Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll's House, portraying the characters Nora and Helmer. The dialogue eerily mirrors Eleanor’s own reality—one shaped and confined by the men closest to her.
By 1898, physically and emotionally exhausted and struggling with opium dependence, Eleanor takes her own life.
Cast
[edit | edit source]- Romola Garai as Eleanor Marx
- Patrick Kennedy as Edward Aveling
- John Gordon Sinclair as Friedrich Engels
- Felicity Montagu as Helene Demuth
- Karina Fernandez as Olive Schreiner
- Emma Cunniffe as Laura Marx
- George Arrendell as Paul Lafargue
- Célestin Ryelandt as Johnny Longuet
- Oliver Chris as Friedrich 'Freddy' Demuth
- Alexandra Lewis as Aveling's second wife
- Georgina Sadler as Gerty
- Miel van Hasselt as Wilhelm Liebknecht
- Freddy Drabble as Havelock Ellis
- Barney White as Michael
- Stevie Raine as Phillip
- Philip Gröning as Karl Marx
Production
[edit | edit source]Principal photography began on 18 November 2019 at the Royal Charterhouse in Collegno, Turin.[3]
Release
[edit | edit source]Miss Marx had its world premiere in the main international competition section at the 77th Venice Film Festival on 5 September 2020.[4][5] It was subsequently released in Italy by 01 Distribution on 17 September 2020.[6][7][8]
Reception
[edit | edit source]Box office
[edit | edit source]Miss Marx grossed a worldwide total of $625,370.[1][2]
Critical reception
[edit | edit source]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Miss Marx holds an approval rating of Lua error in Module:Rotten_Tomatoes_data at line 136: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). based on Lua error in Module:Rotten_Tomatoes_data at line 136: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). reviews, with an average of Lua error in Module:Rotten_Tomatoes_data at line 136: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value)..[9]
Awards and nominations
[edit | edit source]| Award | Date of the ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David di Donatello Awards | 11 May 2021 | Best Film | Miss Marx | Nominated | [10] |
| Best Producer | Marta Donzelli, Gregorio Paonessa, Joseph Rouschop and Valérie Bournonville | Won | |||
| Best Director | Susanna Nicchiarelli | Nominated | |||
| Best Cinematography | Crystel Fournier | Nominated | |||
| Best Production Design | Alessandro Vannucci, Igor Gabriel and Fiorella Cicolini | Nominated | |||
| Best Score | Gatto Ciliegia Contro II Grande Freddo and Downtown Boys | Won | |||
| Best Sound | Adriano Di Lorenzo, Pierpaolo Merafino, Marc Bastien, Pierre Greco and Franco Piscopo | Nominated | |||
| Best Costumes | Massimo Cantini Parrini | Won | |||
| Best Visual Effects | Massimiliano Battista | Nominated | |||
| Best Make-up | Diego Prestopino | Nominated | |||
| Best Hairstyling | Domingo Santoro | Nominated | |||
| Globo d'oro | 28 February 2021 | Italians in the World Award | Miss Marx | Won | [11] |
| Venice Film Festival | 2–12 September 2020 | Golden Lion | Nominated | [12][13][14] | |
| FEDIC Award for Best Film | Won | ||||
| Soundtrack Stars Award for Best Soundtrack | Gatto Ciliegia contro il Grande Freddo and Downtown Boys | Won | |||
| La Pellicola d'Oro Award for Best Dressmaker | Paola Seghetti | Won |
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- 2020 films
- 2020 biographical drama films
- English-language Belgian films
- English-language Italian films
- Italian historical drama films
- Italian biographical drama films
- Belgian biographical drama films
- Films directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli
- Films shot in Italy
- 2020s feminist films
- Films set in London
- Films set in 1883
- Films set in 1890
- Films set in 1895
- Films set in 1896
- Films set in 1898
- Films set in the Victorian era
- Cultural depictions of Karl Marx
- Films about social class
- Belgian historical drama films
- 2020s historical drama films
- 2020s English-language films
- 2020s Italian films
- 2020s Belgian films
- English-language historical drama films
- English-language biographical drama films
- Vivo Film films
