Maria Review
She was the diva of her day. The word could have been invented for Maria Callas and, even though it wasnāt, she epitomized everything that goes with it: seemingly limitless wealth, a personal life which included a long-term affair with Greek billionaire, Aristotle Onassis, and notoriously temperamental behaviour on and off stage that often eclipsed her extraordinary soprano voice all put her in the headlines with a regularity many of todayās would-be stars would seriously envy. But aside from all that, how much do we really know about the most famous woman in the world during the 50s?
Cue Pablo Larrain who, reunited with his Spencer (2021) writer Steven Knight, attempts to break down the faƧade in Maria, his third in a series of biopics of the best-known women of their respective decades ā Princess Diana in the 90s and, in Jackie (2016), Jacqueline Kennedy, who owned the 60s. While not designed to be a formal trilogy, the links between the films arenāt as loose as they may at first appear. Lavish settings with photography to match, the inability of wealth to guarantee happiness, and the more obvious connections between Callas and the Kennedy family are on show in his portrait of a woman who may be a complete unknown for more recent generations.
Unlike the other two narratives, which concentrated on a single life-changing event for the woman concerned, Maria bases itself more broadly in 1977. Now retired from singing in public and a semi-recluse, Callas lives with her devoted butler/chauffeur Feruccio (Piersco Favino) and housekeeper Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher) in a palatial Parisian apartment. Haughty and demanding ā she frequently orders them to move the piano around for no apparent reason ā she is consumed with grief for her lost career and the death of Onassis, while apparently contemplating a return to opera, even though her failing health is clearly taking a toll on her voice. How much of what we see is happening in her mind and how much is closer to reality isnāt always clear, but itās a perceptive combination that not only demands our attention but also intrigues us by blurring the boundaries.
Larrainās choice of Jolie to play the lead has gifted the film huge attention and itās perhaps the weightiest dramatic role sheās played for some time. Her career as a producer, together with repeated outings as Maleficent for Disney and voice acting work in the Kung Fu Panda franchise have taken up most of at least the past 15 years, so her most recent roles with serious heft are her Oscar-nominated performance in Changeling (2008) and a powerful turn in A Mighty Heart (2007). Only time will tell if Maria marks something of a comeback. Here, sheās imperious, both in posture and attitude, although the volcanic temperament only puts in brief appearances: instead, she is coldly single-minded when it comes to having her own way, never allowing anybody to deny her. Beneath that exterior is pain, explained mainly in grainy black-and-white flashbacks, and it comes from a number of sources, starting with her childhood.
It is, without doubt, Jolieās film, with the small ing cast very much in her shadow and itās also a performance which has caused flurries of speculation about her Best Actress chances next year. However that pans out, the film certainly gives us all a timely reminder that as well as being one of the most photographed women in the world, sheās genuinely a talented actor. A superstar playing a superstar, if you like.
ā ā ā ā
In UK cinemas from 10th January 2025 / Angelina Jolie, Kodi Smit-Mhee, Piersco Favino, Haluk Bilginer, Alba Rohrwacher / Dir: Pablo Larrain / StudioCanal / 12A
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
