Maria (2024 | Italy, Germany, United States | 124 minutes | Pablo Larraín)
Maria Callas, a world-renowned opera singer, had an incredible and enduring effect on anyone who witnessed her power and talent. She was also a force to be reckoned with off stage with very little patience for the inane. The last years of her life were spent largely in solitude accompanied only by her butler, maid and a few unfortunate hallucinations. In despair over the loss of her voice, her career and worldwide adoration, she spent those last years pining for what once was. To mute her inner turmoil she comforted herself with a cocktail of drugs that would eventually lead to her death.
Maria was an unexpected journey through the life and mind of an incredible talent that could not handle stepping out of the spotlight. It wasn’t exactly the loss of attention that brought her to her knees (thought that contributed to it), but that she defined herself by what she could do, not who she was. Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas was stunningly effective and the transformation she made to become this singular woman gave me a whole new respect for her abilities as an actress. I was skeptical of this role, it has been quite a while since I’d seen anything Jolie had worked on that truly impressed me. This impressed me.
With several wonderful supporting actors like Alba Rohrwacher and Pierfrancesco Favino (Maria’s maid and butler) surrounding her, allowing the spotlight to shine brightest with her, Jolie was able to take on the spirit of the late operatic marvel and embody her whole-heartedly. While I am easily enveloped in a film and often become emotionally charged, there are few that linger. Few that accompany me for days after, affecting my worldview and mood, until it finally frees its hold on me. Maria seems to be one of these films. Perhaps it’s my desire to know this incomparable and snide woman that so many adored, but so few actually knew. Or perhaps it was the magic that cleared my mind of all that is going on in the world for a blissful (yet heartbreaking) two hours.
Maria arrives in theaters on 11/27/24