Year of Release: 2024
Director: Pablo Larraín
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Valeria Golino, Caspar Phillipson, Lydia Koniordou, Vincent Macaigne, Aggelina Papadopoulou, Erophilie Panagiotarea, Alessandro Bressanello
Genre: Drama, Biography
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Netflix
Synopsis and Review
Following the well received (and gorgeously shot) "El Conde", director Pablo Larraín is back, closing the trilogy of portraits focused on iconic women of the 20th century, which he began in 2016 with "Jackie", which was followed by "Spencer" in 2021, also written by Steven Knight, whom he partners again for "Maria". "Maria" focuses its narrative on the last week of Maria Callas' life, when she was living in Paris, September of 1977. The film tracks Maria's daily interactions with her support staff, namely her butler/chauffeur Ferruccio, and the quiet but supportive multi-tasker Bruna. Maria is attempting a comeback into singing, following a semi-retirement/abandonment of the stage, following issues with her voice. With that in mind she's been meeting with a friend from the past who accompanies her on the piano, while she attempts to sing arias from operas she loves and feels connected with. Simultaneously she reminisces about the past, being a teenager during World War II, her relationship with her husband, with her lover Aristotle Onassis, and even crossing paths with President John F. Kennedy. She reconnects with her sister, who warns her about her mental and physical state, however that does not deter her from keeping her diet of pills and very little nourishment. Her mental state also leads her to believe in interactions that are not taking place, namely with a reporter who is attempting to create a profile on her. Through it all, she remains a Diva, the voice that no one is able to forget.
"Maria" probably more so than the other two films of the trilogy, is the one that feels less abstract and stripped from some of the artificial aspects that rendered those films somewhat overtly intellectualized reflections, ones where at times there was a barrier in understanding the emotion behind the facades. "Maria" because it ties itself with a musical icon, one where the expressiveness of the music and the voice is so thunderous, also strips away the glossiness of the public figure and showcases the vulnerabilities of someone who reached great heights of adoration, and who suddenly sees herself in a humbler place in life. It's a wonderful portrait, of someone who knows their narrative is coming to an end, but who does not fear it. The fear for what lies ahed for Maria is not death, but failure of her voice, of everything that made her who she is, at least in her own mind. The construct of the Maria she made for herself, is so tied with the singer, the performer, the voice, that everything else almost falls to the wayside. Her loneliness, the passing of her lover to whom she was so devoted, is also something that haunts her, humanizes her, and eats away at her well being, at her ability to move on. It's a beautifully rendered portrayal of a complicated individual, filled with talent, ego, frailties. The film doesn't provide much dimension to the supporting characters, though the brief interaction with her sister is a powerful statement. The cast is superlatively good, with Angelina Jolie bringing an intensity and vulnerability to the role, unlike anything she's ever done before. Everything aligns in this film for her. She gets great support from the always excellent Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher (who shined so brightly on Luca Guadagnino's "I Am Love"), Haluk Bilginer, and the always luminous Valeria Golino. The production team is superb, including Edward Lachman's cinematography, Guy Hendrix Dyas' production design, and Massimo Cantini Parrini's costumes. A solid film from a great director.
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