TMS Muse of the Week: Monica Vitti

(via pinterest.com)

Throughout film history, there seem to be the same two actresses representing Italy at the top of the old Hollywood pyramid: Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida. Naturally, it’s mainly because both ladies crossed over to American movies not long into their careers. But at the same time as Sophia and Gina, another Italian star, Monica Vitti, stayed in Europe and carved her own legacy. From 1960 to roughly 1965, the tall blonde was the leading lady and muse for Italian filmmaking legend Michelangelo Antonioni. Depending on who you ask, the two met in 1957, when Monica was hired as a performer for Antonioni’s Milan theatre company, Teatro Nuovo; or when she was hired to dub the voice of actress Dorian Gray in his film Il Grido (1957). What we do know for certain, is that sparks flew professionally and romantically three years later when Monica was cast as the lead in Antonioni’s L’Avventura (1960). Polarizing upon release, the artsy melodrama was infamously booed during its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But the feature received plenty of award wins and nominations, which included Monica winning Best Foreign Actress at the BAFTAs and receiving a nomination for Best Breakthrough Actress at the Golden Globes. Like Liv Ullmann is to Ingmar Bergman or Anna Karina to Jean-Luc Godard, Monica was the perfect face for the international, arthouse dramas booming from Europe in the 1960s. Whether it was her soft features and blonde hair or emotional range and intuitive timing on camera, her director and lover knew how to capture her full potential.

Following L’Avventura, Monica and Antonioni returned for L’Eclisse (1962) and Red Desert (1964). All three films deal with personal depression and romantic angst simultaneously occurring during a significant event. In between L’Avventura and L’Eclisse, Monica also had a supporting role in Antonioni’s love triangle La Notte (1961). Though the couple were together until 1970, Red Desert was their final film collaboration before reuniting 16 years later for the drama-mystery The Mystery of Oberwald (1980).

(Cineriz / Criterion)

After beginning her screen career with rather heavy material, Monica took a cue from Sophia and Gina and tried her hand at lighter material like Joseph Losey’s spy comedy Modesty Blaise (1966), Luis Buñuel’s anthology satire The Phantom of Liberty (1974) and Michael Ritchie’s romcom An Almost Perfect Affair (1979); before ultimately retiring from acting in 1989. Despite her huge acclaim, growing influence and lasting legacy, Monica was mostly private throughout her stardom and until her death at 90 in February 2022. We know she and Antonioni ended their relationship on good terms even though it was the director who left the actress. We know Monica spent most of the 1970s in a relationship with cinematographer-director Carlo di Palma, who previously provided the cinematography for Red Desert. And we know she eventually married her longtime boyfriend Robert Russo in 2000. One reason we rarely heard from Monica after she quit films is because she sadly started showing signs of dementia in 2002, which worsened over time.

Because she chose not to give herself lots of exposure publicly, Monica is one of the many cases in the MOTW series where the quality of her performances and films speaks for themselves. Like with Marilyn Monroe, we never tire of seeing Monica’s face on film and are learning more about her through her interpretation of her characters. She tapped into a psyche that reflected the mid-20th century European film communities and continues to endure as a presence in classic cinema.