Maria, based on the life of opera legend Maria Callas, completes the ‘trilogy’ of iconic women by Chilean director Pablo Larraín. It’s unclear if Larraín intended for them to form a trilogy, but they definitely share some connections. Jackie (as in Jackie Kennedy Onassis), Spencer (about Princess Diana), and now Maria all center on women who carved their own identities and voices during significant historical moments.

Just like Larraín did with Spencer, Maria focused on a specific moment in the heroine’s life, specifically Callas’ last seven days in 1970s Paris. It opens with her passing in her Paris apartment, with two of her loyal housekeeper Ferruccio (Pierfrancesco Favino), and housemaid Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher) looming over her lifeless body. It’s sad for such celebrated women adored the world over to meet such a tragic end, and I often wonder what their last days might’ve been like. In the case of Maria Callas, it’s filled with meditative introspection and surreal dreams.

Angelina Jolie seems an inspired choice to portray Callas. She carries a natural elegance and charm, but there’s also a bitterness that feels like it’s been gnawing at her from within. Jolie has always been slender but here she looks rail thin and frail, though she still looks fantastic in retro 1970s clothing designed by Massimo Cantini Parrini. Lensed by DP Edward Lachman, with opulent production design work by Guy Hendrix Dyas, the film often looks like a stylish 70s Parisian autumn travelogue featuring a chic fashionista.

Based on a script by Steven Knight, Larraín uses flashbacks to explore Callas’ journey, which shows a glimpse of her past when she and her sister were told to sing for soldiers of occupying forces in Athens. Her own mother basically tried to pimp her out to Nazi soldiers, which likely affect her relationships with men throughout her life. One of whom is Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer), who apparently hated Opera music and later abandoned her for Jackie Kennedy. There’s an amusing scene with JFK (played by Caspar Phillipson, Larraín’s go-to actor for the role as he also played JFK in Jackie) talking about Aristotle and Jackie’s relationship.

The script deliberately interweaves the real and surreal elements to keep you guessing whether certain events are just figments of her imagination. Of course, it isn’t difficult to decipher that the interview scenes with a young TV reporter named Mandrax (Kodi Smit-McPhee) aren’t real, considering Callas is obviously addicted to the sedative drug. She conjures up the imaginary TV reporter to boost her own sense of importance. We see her wandering around her apartment and all over Paris with Mandrax, and even her household staff has grown indifferent to her hallucinations. Ferruccio is especially concerned for their boss’ health, he calls in the doctor to check on her. Despite the doctor’s advice not to sing, Maria stages her comeback by rehearsing with conductor Jeffrey Tate (Stephen Ashfield).

Even the most die-hard fan of Le Jolie would find the sluggish pace challenging. Jolie cuts a captivating figure, but I don’t think this role stretches her acting muscles, apart from her dedication to studying opera for months to do some of the singing. The movie mixes Jolie’s voice with some original recordings of Callas for the singing parts. I’m not really well-versed in Callas’ singing, so I can’t spot the difference, but that’s not my main concern. What I really want is to feel a connection with Callas as a person, and honestly, that’s tough because she seems to keep everyone at arm’s length. Larraín’s storytelling keeps Callas shrouded in mystery, even after more than two hours. Her brief chat with her estranged sister Yakinthi (Valeria Golino) doesn’t endear us to her; she seems more like a bitter diva than someone we can warm up to.

That said, I really feel for Callas, who probably views her incredible operatic voice as both a blessing and a burden. Now that she gets to live life on her own terms, she wants to take back her amazing talent for herself. It’s tragic that by the time she fully embraces her voice, her body just can’t keep up anymore. She lives such a forlorn existence in the end, with only her household staff as her friends. Favino is pretty memorable here as her caring butler who’d even go so far as defending her against intrusive paparazzi.

As far as biopics go, I understand that Larraín doesn’t mean for Maria to be a comprehensive one, but it feels more style over substance to me as Callas remains a huge enigma. It’s certainly a star vehicle for Jolie, who must’ve welcomed the attention on her work given she’s constantly in the news about her messy divorce with Brad Pitt. Well, if anything, Maria proves she’s still one of Hollywood’s formidable leading ladies.

MARIA is streaming on Netflix on December 11

What are your thoughts on Angelina Jolie and/or MARIA movie?

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