Miss Marx
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
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.