A Debuting Italian Director Has Crafted One of This Year’s Most Appreciated American Horror Films
His name is Edoardo Vitaletti. He was born in Monza e Brianza, and attended film school at NYU. His debut film, titled The Last Thing Mary Saw, drew comparison compared with Robert Eggers. This is the first Italian interview of a young auteur to keep our eyes on.
by MATTIA CARZANIGA | February 6th, 2022 7:50AM | translated in ENGLISH from the original ITALIAN
Stefanie Scott & Isabelle Fuhrman in The Last Thing Mary Saw
Credit: SHUDDER
Is it possible to avoid cliché declarations (our title, too) such as “a debuting, Italian director has crafted one of this year’s most appreciated American horror films?”
Yes, if on the other side of the conversation there’s a bright young man, a so-called dreamer at the beginning of his career, who’s also able to keep a pragmatic approach to things, so that he is ready and able to make his way through the challenges coming his way.
His name is Edoardo Vitaletti, 26, born in Monza and with a degree in film production from NYU. His debut film The Last Thing Mary Saw garnered rave reviews on soil (the film is US-made), and drew inevitable comparisons with genre masters such as M. Night Shyamalan, and especially Robert Eggers (writer-director of The Witch). His film, set in 19th century America, tells the story of a young woman who’s being investigated for a murder which seems tied with something of the occult. Is the girl a witch? Or is she different just because—and bear with me—her feelings don’t conform to the gender and sexual norms of the time? The film features great young cast (Stefanie Scott and Isabelle Fuhrman on top of the better-known, and not just because of his last name, Rory Culkin), showcases the director’s great hand, as well as a great deal of tension; yet, it has yet to strike a distribution deal for Italy
MC: It did come out, though, in the US—directly on streaming. I wonder what it means for a first-time filmmaker to have their debut film being almost unanimously well-received, but to not have it come out in cinemas.
EV: This film began a while ago, I was already preparing it while completing my college studies. I shot the movie in December 2019, just before the pandemic hit. Right after the shoot, I felt a lot of adrenaline, and my expectations were very high. Covid somewhat tamed that flame, especially because the entertainment business revolves around socializing—you need to know people, talk to each other. The pandemic was a cold shower, but having heard the experience of other filmmakers, I consider myself one of the lucky ones. Being released directly on a streaming platform allows you to reach a much wider audience.
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Edoardo Vitaletti on the set of The Last Thing Mary Saw
MC: So, for a young filmmaker nowadays it is normal to think of streaming platforms as an end-goal for their work.
EV: There’s a great advantage to the streaming world, definitely. There’s also undoubtedly an emotional side to it, meaning that I would’ve loved to buy a ticket to go watch my film in a theatre. That’s also where the argument ends, though. Streaming services have greatly democratized the fruition of films and of content at large. In New York, a movie ticket might cost you upwards of 20 dollars. Thus, aside from discussing going to the cinema from a comfort perspective, there’s something to be said about who can really afford such prizes—who can really go out to watch a film. If the only people watching a film are those living in Manhattan or Los Angeles, well, that's a bit of a meaningless bubble. The movie theatre experience is
nice, but the most important thing for an emerging filmmaker, is to make ourselves known, to be seen, and right now movie theatres don’t allow for that as much. I'm sure that sooner or later, I'll experience having one of my films in theatres, but right now I’m not aching for it. For someone like me, entering the industry now, the claim that “real films” only come out in theatres rings empty. Like I said, films must be available to be seen.
MC: Can you dive a bit into your background, aside from the cliches I mentioned earlier?
EV: I was born and raised in Monza e Brianza, and I was never one of those kids— and in college I’ve met many of those—who say: “The first thing I ever held in my hands was a film camera.” I didn’t develop a desire to make movies early on, it only happened towards my senior year in high school. That’s when I began to realize that I could “write” my thoughts through the cinematic language. Between 17 and 19 years old I planned, together with my family, to apply for film schools, and right off the bat the first option was to do that abroad. I applied to NYU and I got in. When that happened, I felt a great sense of joy, as well as my stomach drop. I’d been idealizing going abroad to study, and then suddenly I began thinking: “Wow, in a few months I’ll get on a plane with a one-way ticket.”
MC: Can we also dispel the myth that there’s no better higher education than the one you get from American colleges? Or are they actually the best?
EV: Having gone through it, I like to think that it’s a bit of myth. I don’t think my NYU film education was necessarily better than the one I could’ve gotten at the Centro Sperimentale in Rome, or at the Civic School in Milan, as much as at a French, or Northern European school. For me, it’s more about the city you’re in. Being in New York, it’s much easier to find your place in the entertainment industry. There are more financial opportunities, and it’s easier to break through. Back when I left Italy, I thought: “I’m going to a much better school than any school I could go to here”, but I don’t think that was the case—it’s just that in New York, I found a much more dynamic and open-minded city environment, where an international artist carries a lot of value.
MC: The Last Thing Mary Saw tells a very American story, and to tell it, you chose a genre—the horror genre—which is quintessentially American.
EV: the interesting thing is that, when I speak with American people who watched it, they say the film has a very European flavor, while Europeans tell me that it feels very American. My artistic upbringing is a bit of a hybrid. After four to five years living in the US, the challenge for me was to tell a story that could say something about the culture I’d been assimilating to. That being said, I carry the cultural footprint of my growing up in a very religious country, such as Italy. My family was open-minded, but in public schools you always see a crucifix hanging on the wall, and you also take religion classes... As the years went by, having gone through different experiences in the US, I sort of took out a lot of what was inside. So yeah, it’s a very American story, but my Italian upbringing is all over it. I like the fact that I’m a cultural hybrid, although sometimes I have a hard time navigating that: I don’t know where I belong, so for now, I cherish the feeling of being on a journey. I’m certainly a bit more American now, professionally speaking. This is actually my first interview with an Italian newspaper.
Rory Culkin in The Last Thing Mary Saw
Credit: SHUDDER
MC: Is the comparison to The Witch flattering or does it make you uncomfortable?
EV: I’d say flattering. Robert Eggers is a phenomenal director, I admire him greatly. That being said, comparisons are complicated, and they tend to generalize: you watch a movie with period costumes, lit by candles and with story elements of the occult, and you just connect the dots. I try not to take too much from other films. With this film, like I said, I was mostly trying to reflect on how religion affects us Italians culturally—how the secular and the sacred are intertwined. These are all things I started to think about after I left Italy. When you leave, it’s hard not to see notice some contradictions, or feel frustrated towards some of the precepts Catholicism. It’s a religion that calls itself inclusive, but most of what it does is exclude. Being distant allows you to ask yourself: what is the difference between spirituality, and a culture that imposes rules without tolerance? My film is a way to take my frustration out. There’s also lots to say about identity, queerness—topics that we never discuss in Italian schools. Being born in Italy doesn’t help you understand who you are, it forces you to constantly think about what you must do, and what you must be. Coming here —and by “here” I mean New York, not America at large—I found a much more open-minded environment. I learned a lot, I left a lot of preconceived notions behind, and I could discuss things much more broadly, in a way that makes me happy. We’ve been living strapped inside a canon: when you write a romantic relationship, it’s always gonna be between a man and a woman; if there’s a character exercising control, or showing strength, intelligence—it’s likely gonna be a male character. Now we’re talking in ways that make you wonder why this canon is so monolithic, and why we don’t tell different stories instead. I like to think that I can contribute to building the future of the industry—a system that can address these topics for what they are.
MC: The first thing you held in your hands was not a camera, but as a kid, would you go to cinema?
EV: I’d go to the cinema about as often as any other person who doesn’t want to make movies for a living. I never was an obsessive cinephile. Then, around 16-17 years old, I started watching movies with more interest. I’d go downtown in Monza, to the Feltrinelli store, and I’d buy DVDs of Fellini’s, Scorsese’s, or Sorrentino’s films...Bergman’s too—he’s had a great influence on the things I do.
MC: I can see that in your film.
EV: He’s the biggest artistic influence I have, he’s always there, even subconsciously. Bergman is one of the film directors who amazed me the most, as I was beginning to think I too could make movies. He’s got this ability to say so much without saying anything, which truly is what directing is for, as well writing. He does both things in a way that I find shockingly good.
MC: Yet, I get the impression that you are one of those first-time filmmakers who, sure, have specific aesthetic references, but wish to remain free.
EV: I look at my second film as something completely different from the first one, and I’m sure that the third one will be very different from the second one. Finding your voice is not something you plan, but rather something you figure out film by film. I made a horror movie, maybe one day I’ll make a comedy. I like the idea of keeping myself open, of doing things that are very different from each other.
MC: Bergman is known for films that are, let’s say, spiritual, existential, but he did a bit of everything—comedies, romantic films...
EV: What’s nice is you discover how with every director, there’s a through-line which cuts through their entire career, regardless of which genre they worked within, or what specific stories their films tell. Bergman came from theatre, then he made comedies for television, and then he gave us great films such as The Silence or Cries and Whispers—very intense, very understated films. If I were to point to an artistic model, he is what I mean when I talk about artistic growth. If in twenty years people will be able to see that same through-line in the movies I have made, that’ll tell me that I’ll have grown. Then, obviously, having debuted with a horror film, a lot of people expect me to make another one. Yet, I still believe I can keep my artistic individuality.
MC: Another example that comes to mind while talking to you, is that of Luca Guadagnino—very Italian but also international, almost globe-trotting, but never quite settled in our system—whether that’s his choice, or because of someone else’s shortsightedness.
EV: He’s an artist who’s had a very multifaceted career, which makes it a great one. I see things the way he does. As a life choice, I like living in the US, but I’d love to make an Italian film in Italy. When I first came to the US, I was a bit resistant —I never wanted to come back home because I thought my job was to dive as deep as I could into this new culture. Eventually, I learned to relax. Right now, if I had the opportunity to make a movie in Italy or in Europe, I’d jump on it. I’d love for my family to watch a film of mine in Italian.