Vanessa Schneider

In this sad memoir, journalist Vanessa Schneider reflects upon the misspent life of a cousin she barely knew: Maria Schneider, the beautiful young actress who was sexually abused by Marlon Brando in the 1973 film Last Tango in Paris. The tabloids and the men in charge of the film industry in the 1970s didn’t let her career move past that one infamous scene, and the actress lost herself in addiction to heroin and other substances. Eventually, Maria found love, but ultimately she succumbed to cancer.

Vanessa didn’t really know her cousin, and her lack of intimacy with her shows in this brief, heartfelt, but ultimately rather unfulfilling account.… (more)