The 2024-2025 Italian mini-series Mussolini: Son of the Century (M: Il figlio del secolo), directed by Joe Wright and based on the international bestseller by Antonio Scurati, is a significant and ambitious television event. It is not a traditional biopic but a sprawling, novelistic political drama that seeks to answer one of history’s most troubling questions: how did a democratic nation willingly deliver itself into the hands of a fascist dictator?

The series distinguishes itself by focusing intensely on the crucial and often overlooked period from the end of the First World War to Mussolini’s consolidation of power in the mid-1920s, exploring the social, political, and psychological conditions that made the Fascist revolution possible.

Thesis: The Anatomy of a Takeover

The central thesis of the series is that Fascism was not a pre-ordained outcome nor solely the product of a single man’s monstrous ambition. Instead, it was a viral phenomenon that spread through a nation suffering from a collective nervous breakdown. Mussolini is presented not as a grand strategic genius, but as a brilliant, opportunistic, and ruthless political tactician who possessed an uncanny ability to channel the nation’s fear, anger, and humiliation into a movement.

The title, Son of the Century, is key. It positions Mussolini as the product of his time—the literal offspring of the chaos, disillusionment, and violence that defined the early 20th century in Italy.

Narrative Structure and Scope: The Chorus of Chaos

The series employs a multi-perspective narrative structure, which is its most defining and effective feature.

• Beyond the Dictator: While Mussolini (played with captivating, animalistic intensity by Lorenzo Richelmy) is the central figure, the narrative constantly shifts to a vast ensemble cast. We see events through the eyes of:
  • Political opponents: Socialist leaders like Giacomo Matteotti (whose tragic fate is a central plot point), liberals like Giovanni Giolitti, and figures from the Catholic party.
  • Fascist collaborators: Key figures like Italo Balbo, Michele Bianchi, and Margherita Sarfatti, each with their own ambitions and doubts.
  • Ordinary citizens: Soldiers, factory workers, and farmers whose lives are upended by the political turmoil.
  • The King: Vittorio Emanuele III’s weakness and political calculations are critically examined.

This approach does not attempt to explain Mussolini’s inner psyche but to document the ecosystem that allowed him to thrive. The audience is placed in the middle of the political salons, street brawls, newspaper offices, and parliamentary chambers, experiencing the rising tide of violence and instability from all sides.

Character Portrayal: The Opportunist, Not the Icon

• Benito Mussolini (Lorenzo Richelmy): This is not the pompous, podium-pounding Duce of later years. Richelmy portrays Mussolini as a shapeshifter: a former socialist journalist who is charismatic, vulgar, intellectually sharp, and profoundly cynical. He is a man of immense energy and no fixed ideology beyond the pursuit of power. His genius lies in his propaganda skills—using his newspaper, Il Popolo d’Italia, to manipulate public opinion—and his willingness to unleash his Blackshirt squads (squadristi) to create a state of terror that the state apparatus was too weak to control. The performance highlights his magnetism but never shies away from his brutality and opportunism.
• The Supporting Cast: The series excels in its portrayal of the figures around Mussolini. The King (**Fabrizio Bentivoglio**) is depicted as tragically weak, more concerned with the stability of the monarchy than the fate of the nation’s democracy. The socialist leaders are shown as tragically divided and ideologically rigid, unable to counter the Fascist threat effectively. The Blackshirt leaders are portrayed as violent thugs whose actions often outpace Mussolini’s own plans, forcing his hand and accelerating the movement’s radicalization.

Themes: The Fragility of Democracy

The series meticulously explores the themes that led to the collapse of Italian democracy:

• Post-War Trauma and Humiliation: The “mutilated victory”—the feeling that Italy was cheated of the territorial gains it was promised despite its sacrifices in WWI—is shown as a national wound that Mussolini expertly exploits.
• Political Violence as a Tool: The series does not glorify but graphically depicts the squadristi violence against socialists, trade unionists, and political opponents. This “strategy of tension” is presented as a deliberate tool to undermine the state’s monopoly on force and present Fascism as the only solution to the “Red Menace.”
• The Failure of Institutions: The paralysis of the liberal government, the indecision of the monarchy, and the internal squabbles of the left are all laid bare. The series argues that Fascism succeeded because every institution that should have stopped it either failed, underestimated it, or cynically tried to use it for its own ends.
• The Role of Media and Spectacle: Mussolini’s background as a journalist is central. The series shows how he used media to create a myth, simplify complex issues into slogans, and present himself as the strongman the nation craved. The March on Rome is framed as less a military coup and more a brilliantly staged media spectacle that convinced the country power had already been seized.

Cinematography and Tone: Gritty and Unflinching

Director Joe Wright brings a kinetic, often gritty visual style. The camera is often handheld, placing the viewer in the midst of chaotic street fights and tense political meetings. The color palette is often muted, reflecting the grim reality of post-war Italy. However, Wright also uses contrasting imagery—the stark beauty of the Italian countryside against the brutality of the squads’ actions—to heighten the sense of a nation at a crossroads.

The tone is consistently dark and suspenseful. Even though the audience knows the historical outcome, the series builds tension masterfully, showing how each compromised principle and each act of unchecked violence brings the democratic republic closer to its inevitable end.

Historical Significance and Reception

Mussolini: Son of the Century has been praised for its historical rigor and its refusal to simplify a complex story. It has sparked important conversations in Italy and beyond about the origins of fascism, the seductive power of populism, and the fragility of democratic norms when faced with organized violence and charismatic authoritarianism.

Some criticism has focused on the potential risk of “humanizing” a monster by showing his political, rather than purely monstrous, dimensions. However, the series’ power lies in its counter-argument: understanding the specific, step-by-step process by which a democracy commits suicide is far more terrifying and politically vital than simply dismissing a dictator as a one-dimensional monster. It makes the story not just a history lesson, but a chilling cautionary tale.

Conclusion

Mussolini: Son of the Century is a monumental achievement in historical drama. It is a dense, intelligent, and unsettling examination of the birth of fascism. By focusing on the “how” rather than the “why,” and by employing a chorus of voices to tell the story, it successfully argues that dictators are not born in a vacuum. They are, indeed, “sons of their century”—creations of widespread fear, institutional failure, and societal collapse. The series serves as a powerful and relevant reminder of how easily the pillars of a free society can crumble when they are not vigorously defended.