Chilean director Pablo Larrain completes his trilogy of films about celebrated women beginning with ‘Jackie’, ‘Spencer’ and now ‘Maria’ based on Greek opera legend Maria Callas
Maria Movie Review
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher
Director: Pablo Larrain
Rating: 3.5/5
Runtime: 124 min
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Chilean director Pablo Larrain completes his trilogy of films about celebrated women beginning with ‘Jackie’, ‘Spencer’ and now ‘Maria’ based on Greek opera legend Maria Callas.
“Maria” is a tragedy that finds its subject with greater control over her own fate. But Larrain’s film is more about the acute loneliness of being Maria Callas, La divina - considered to be the greatest opera singer of her time.
The film opens with Jolie as Callas singing “Ave Maria” from Verdi’s Otello. The voice we hear belongs to Callas but Jolie’s has been mixed in too. We see Callas steer through ups and downs during her final days. Larraín and screenwriter Steven Knight bring it all to life. Callas seeks the acceptance of her devoted staff, Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher) and Ferruccio (Pierfrancesco Favino), turns inwards and has imaginary conversations with self, is bitterly nostalgic about her younger days when she and her sister were forced to entertain German soldiers, fends off nosy fans and the hurtful press and also has a rocky romance with the Greek-Argentine tycoon Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer).
Callas’ penchant for adulation and her inability to regain the glory of her singing voice scarred her soul. Knight’s screenplay reminds us of how talent can be torturous - especially when it doesn’t come up to scratch anymore.
In this film the ailing and neurotic Maria Callas has an imaginary companion called Mandrax, named after the sedative she abuses. The narrative treats the singer’s whole life via a flashback-seasoned account of the last week before her death. Callas died in 1977 at the young age of 53 and it’s simply heart-rending to see Callas deteriorate and slip through our fingers against our will. Larrain’s narrative highlights Callas’ vulnerability and agonising loneliness and we as an audience feel compelled to want to protect her from herself just like her maid and butler try to do.
Such is Jolie’s queenly performance that it draws you in with her ethereal presence as this once-in-a-generation singer grasps with the intense grief of losing her voice.
Larraín cuts to black and white for the nostalgic reminiscing and contrasts that with those of her last week in gorgeous color. Production Designer Guy Hendrix Dyas produces some miraculous settings and backdrops. Massimo Cantini Parrini’s costumes are stunning. Ed Lachman’s glorious, high-contrast lensing lends depth to a narrative that appears rather restrictive in scope. Larraín inserts arias into his narrative to give the audience a taste of everything from Bellini to Puccini to Donizetti.
‘Maria’ is a fascinating piece of work but its also Larrain’s weakest. The film has amazing production design, gorgeous cinematography and is fortified by a charismatic singing performance by Anjolina Jolie but it doesn’t have anything special to convey either about Callas or the art form she made her own!
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