Maria
In Paris in September of 1977, the woman regarded as the greatest opera performer of all time spends her last week alternately relaying her life's story to Mandrax (Kodi Smit-McPhee, "The Power of the Dog"), an imaginary journalist, and trying to get her voice back to sing for herself, having been assured by her housemaid Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher, "The Wonders," HBO's 'My Brilliant Friend') that she sounded glorious. Her name was "Maria."
Laura's Review: B
Director Pablo Larraín ("No," "The Club") completes his biopic trilogy of notable women of the 20th century with a fantastical imagining of how Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie) spent her last week on earth. It shares several things with his first, "Jackie." It frequently tells Maria's story through her conversations with a journalist, here an imaginary one named after one of the drugs she abused; "Jackie's" Caspar Phillipson has been cast again as JFK and Larrain's first and third subjects famously shared Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer, "Winter Sleep"), who reportedly continued his affair with La Callas after he married Jackie.
Maria is attended to in her lavish Paris apartment by her housemaid and her butler Ferruccio Mezzadri (Pierfrancesco Favino, "Rush," "The Traitor"), whose bad back she appears concerned about except when she requests her piano be moved, an almost daily occurrence. Ferruccio is concerned about his mistress's health, finding and removing her hidden caches of drugs and calling in a doctor she wants nothing to do with. He also attends to such demands as booking her a hair appointment with a stylist who doesn't talk and making reservations in places where she's known, the better for her to receive her needed bouts of adulation. She'll sing 'for her supper' in the kitchen as Bruna cooks an omelet, the housemaid a sounding board of reassurance.
Maria will insist Mandrax follow her on a walk about Paris where she will imagine such things as a band playing for her at the base of the Eiffel Tower, something which will disappear along with Mandrax. She'll recall her past (played by (Aggelina Papadopoulou) with an abusive mother who called her fat and ugly, preferring her sister Yakinthi (Erophilie Panagiotarea in the past, Valeria Golino, "Hot Shots!," "Respiro" in the present), forcing them both to perform for German soldiers during WWII (and, it is implied, prostituting them out, something which has been contested). She'll remember being the guest of honor at a party she attended with her husband Giovanni Battista Meneghini (Alessandro Bressanello, "The Hand of God") who watched as Onassis laid claim to her, cinematographer Edward Lachman ("Far From Heaven") switching from rich color to black & white for flashback memories. And she'll walk to visit a pianist, Ronald (Paul Spera, "The Nun II"), who is trying to coach her back to her glory days. But despite Bruna's assurances, her voice is no longer strong and she'll be confronted by a journalist demanding to know just what has happened to her.
Larrain, writer Steven Knight ("Locke") and Jolie present Callas as a demanding diva whereas those who knew her describe her as down to earth. Jolie has a regal presence, her posture erect, every hair in place, her diction calm yet commanding. It is a mesmerizing performance, perhaps Jolie's best, but the real footage of Callas Larrain uses over closing credits presents a woman who appears more playful than the one we've just shared two hours with. There is warmth exhibited as she plays cards with Bruna and Ferruccio and independence as she visits Onassis on his death bed (she'll have to sneak out a back door when Jackie arrives), but Jolie's Callas is a diva through and through. But given the flights of fancy Knight has embellished her final days with, it is Jolie's and Favino's performances that will be remembered far longer than the film itself.
Robin's Review: B+
Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie) was the world’s greatest opera diva for more than a generation. Now, late in her career, her voice is starting to fade and, she fears, that the adulation she has lived with and loved for so long will fade, too, in “Maria.”
I have not cared for Angelina Jolie’s film work for quite a while but, right up front, I will say that this is the finest performance of her career. Actually, the only problem with the actor’s perf is that she is too beautiful for the role of La Callas. But, she also performs to the rafters in the larger-than-life story of a larger-than-life woman.
Director Pablo Larrain completes his trilogy of important women in the 20th Century, following “Jackie (2016)” and “Spencer (2021).” The difference with the latter films is they are about women thrust into fame. “Maria” is about a woman who made her fame early on and built it into a world-traversing career that affected millions.
We know, from the start, that we are seeing a story at its end. The filmmakers build on her demise to tell us her story from her early days as a budding voice to her long and colorful career to her many years affair with Aristotle Onassis (pre Jackie Kennedy). Her diminishing voice, failing so she could see it, becomes an obsession for the diva.
The production is equal to Jolie’s stunning performance, from sets to costume and makeup. There are many levels of fine filmmaking on display here as Maria’s story is woven into a tapestry of her past and her (1977) present. We see a woman who is afraid of losing the one thing that gave her purpose and meaning.
I think that “Maria” will be on short lists for awards consideration come year’s end, especially for the dynamic and powerful performance by Angelina Jolie.
Netflix releases "Maria" in select theaters on 11/27/24 before it begins streaming on 12/11/24.
