Maria, 2024.
Directed by Pablo Larraín.
Starring Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Valeria Golino, Stephen Ashfield, Alessandro Bressanello, Vincent Macaigne, Lydia Korniordou, Caspar Phillipson, Paul Spera, Aggelina Papadopoulou, Christiana Aloneftis, and Erophilie Panagiotarea.
SYNOPSIS:
Follows the life story of the world’s greatest opera singer, Maria Callas, during her final days in 1970s Paris.
An exquisitely shot and beautifully moving snapshot of an artist looking not just to sing again but to reclaim her voice from a world that has co-opted it, invaded her personal life and turned health concerns into gossip, or has tried to take it away from her, Maria (the trilogy capper in Pablo Larraín’s portrait of depressed and internally suffering women of extraordinary note, having previously studied subjects Jackie Kennedy and Diana Spencer) chronicles the final days of world-renowned Greek opera soprano Maria Callas.
While Angelina Jolie doesn’t do the singing (to be fair, who could?), she is wonderfully expressive during the flashback operatic performances. There is also a sense of humor to her that comes out whenever she interacts with her two trusted companions, butler Ferruccio Mezzadri (Pierfrancesco Favino) and housekeeper Bruna Lupoli (Alba Rohrwacher), both with what’s best for her in mind, encouraging her to meet with a doctor and trying to ween her off of pain medication. However, the difference between Maria Callas from Jackie Kennedy and Diana Spencer is that she often makes light jokes about her condition, asserting that it’s no one’s business. She fires back with quips about Ferruccio’s stance and back getting crooked, leading to a running joke of her ordering him to push her piano into different living room spots.
It’s not that Maria doesn’t appreciate their concern, but that she doesn’t care anymore, leading stubborn and independent final days while trying to pin down a special song to sing just for her. Meanwhile, a documentary filmmaker named Mandrax (Kodi Smit-McPhee) has conversations with Maria about her career, love life, and early past, allowing for a meta-framework three-act structure. It’s an unusually conventional trope for such an experimental series of historical figure character studies, but Pablo Larraín (once again collaborating with screenwriter Stephen Knight) uses it as another opportunity to explore gorgeous black-and-white photography (the cinematography from Edward Lachman is consistently spellbinding) and hypnotic sequences that might be from the past or a feverish hallucination (something that Maria admits she is content experiencing.)
Most prominent among that past is business magnate Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer), who caught the attention of the already married Maria with an invitation to recruit that she initially declined. A toxic affair develops, with Aristotle often looking to control Maria (he would eventually go on to become a close friend of Jackie Kennedy, making for a small but brief connection between this otherwise disconnected trilogy of real-life historical figures.) There are also re-created opera performances here with decadent and stunningly captured concert halls (with various shots ranging from close-ups to audience shots to aerial perspectives) tapping into the relationship between characters Maria has played on stage. Even if one isn’t familiar with opera, it is a sonic treat with Angelina Jolie generally getting across an emotional state of mind.
As for Maria Callas, she is often shot from a distance, presumably also to capture the dazzling production design within her massive home, but perhaps is a self-admission that the filmmakers can’t wholly grasp who she was. Even though there are occasional bursts of humor here, it is another gloomy and somewhat emotionally cold take on some despairing final days, with the difference again being that Maria has more fight, independence, and resolve. However, Maria does build to an emotionally arresting finality of reclamation, peace, and tragic beauty, all elevated by what is undoubtedly one of Angelina Jolie’s finest performances.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
