Directed By Pablo Larrain

Starring – Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher

The Plot – Maria Callas (Jolie), the world’s greatest opera singer, lives the last days of her life in 1970s Paris, as she confronts her identity and life.

Rated R for some adult language including a sexual reference

Maria | Official Trailer | Netflix

POSITIVES

As the third film in Larrain’s official ‘Lady with Heels’ trilogy of female-led biopics (With ‘Jackie’ and ‘Spencer’), it’s once again another example of the director breaking convention to conjure something freshly exciting and innovative for the subgenre, that doesn’t just rely on historical accuracies to cement its appeal to longtime fans of the opera singer. Instead of focusing it chronologically on the entirety of Callas’ rise to fame, Larrain instead zeroes in on the last week of her life, long after the glitz and glamour of talent and fame have rubbed off, and what this does is strip down the superstar, granting us intimate access into the woman behind the persona, but beyond that taps into a psychological framing device from the mind of Maria that sneaks up on the audience and presentation of the film in the most bizarrely daring methods. It’s one of those captivities that is easy to miss, especially if you don’t know what to look for, but between the factual liberties taken with the true story, and a supporting character interviewing her, quite literally named Mandrax (British word for Quaalude), it starts to materialize that this is more of an introspection than a character study, uncovering much of the singer’s dying obstacles in coming to terms with her impact and legacy on an industry, which Larrain taps into by incorporating as much of the past in stimulatingly stylized flashbacks, all as a way to appraise value to the relationships that came and went in her life. This makes ‘Maria’ Larrain’s most expansive biopic of the three, especially in using so much of the two hour run time to live and breathe within those quiet moments that consume the character, but beyond that stimulate with thought-provoking dialogue between the characters that surprisingly reveal as much about the mentality of Maria without deliberately coming out and telling us such. This is due once more to Steven Knight’s fearlessness while tapping into the untouchability of celebreality, begging to ask the questions amid conversations that most screenwriters timidly keep away from, but even towards uncovering Maria’s vulnerabilities, her conflicts are approached with tastefulness and grace that never feel exploitative, instead illustrating an ambitious artist whose best days are unfortunately behind her, all the while reflecting on a personal life that was often led with her heart instead of her voice. Larrain’s direction once more elicits a stunning production that exudes upper class elegance in so many aspects, but particularly in the wardrobe designs, set decoration, and immaculate framing within the spellbinding cinematography from Edward Lachman, which all deserve to be seen on the biggest screen possible for immersive capsulation. On the movie’s imagery, this is the first time that Lachman has worked with Larrain, but it’s clear that he’s the right man for the job by emitting the director’s signature style of intimate photography that studies facial registries a bit longer than mainstream movies are typically known for. Between entrancing music performance pieces involving thunderously rampant sound designs, and fantastical transitions of the backdrops between the colorless past and soft pastels of the present, during spontaneous flashbacks, the film services a stunning spectacle that feels transfixing without the need to be overly flashy, instead seducing us with Italian architecture in ways that outline the loneliness and isolation factors of fame’s forgotten plunge, where even in being surrounded by the things that money can buy, it’s the things it can’t that cry out the loudest. But all of these things, while impactful, pale in comparison to the career-best performance from Jolie, who brings such incomparable commitment and credibility to the portrayal of Maria Callas that effortlessly allows her to become this icon of 20th century opera. Jolie’s likenesses are close enough to buy her casting, but it’s what she gives audibly that silence any of the doubters that she was Larrain’s first and only choice to play the role, both with a thick Italian accent that never withers, and legitimate vocal chops during scenes where Jolie is asked to master the impossible feat of executing Callas’ unreachable tones. While Jolie’s moments as a singer are only limited to those times during vocal practice, instead of the big elaborate stage performances that use lip-synching, Jolie spent seven months in opera training to even come close to reaching the levels that make her credible as a singer, and it shows itself off incredibly in ways that believably elicit the breathing exercises that opera singers conjure in attempting such vocal manipulation with their diaphragms. However, Jolie’s mesmerizing work isn’t just limited to a vocal capacity, as the emotional minefield that she walks as a woman forced to come to terms with her own artistic mortality is the real compelling factor of her performance, particularly during those moments of the current day narrative where her frailty feels like the secret that she’s trying to keep from her staff and family. It’s the single most defining element that makes her appealing to the audience, despite embodying that same spoiled mentality that all rich people celebrities have, and between the longing of a love life that never satisfied, and an industry that moved on without her, Jolie attains some much-needed empathy for the character that humanizes her among her extraordinary talents, leaving it all on the stage without a shred of relenting in the authenticity of her portrayal.

NEGATIVES

Larrain’s latest is definitely my second favorite of this trilogy, but ultimately one limited by a couple of key hinderances that deduces its quality a bit, beginning with the aforementioned choice of lip-synching Maria’s stage performances, with Jolie failing to dig deep in her bodily ratcheting. Considering the overwhelming tones that are coming out of the speakers, the gentle lack of physicality with her stage presence leaves plenty more to be desired, especially in that her facial demeanor never changes, despite the volume level of the vocalizations going louder. While it’s obvious that Jolie singing these immaculate numbers would be insulting to Callas’ legacy I wish they went for more wider angles involving the audience, during Jolie’s portrayal, as doing so would not only remove the single most distracting element of this movie, but would also maximize Maria’s inspiring impact in energy that she delivered to paying audiences, in turn making the most of what should be the single most important sequences of the movie. Beyond bad lip-synching, my only other issue with the film pertained to a flat ending that drowned on a bit longer than I would’ve preferred, where the movie finally felt every inch of its two hour run time. Part of the issue is that the movie doesn’t end during its most triumphant moment, where it could’ve sent audiences home feeling the magnitude of Callas’ powers, and instead chooses to follow her throughout every last beat of her life, which ends the film on a bit of a down note. For my money, metaphorical would’ve mattered so much more during these moments, where the fantastically psychological approach of Larrain’s direction could’ve inspired something symbolic to Maria’s transcendence to the afterlife. Even at the risk of alienating an audience with something spiritual, similar to how ‘The Whale’ did so, it would’ve been more memorable than how it’s ended here, as a worthwhile exploration into the mind of this cherished figure goes out on such a forgettable afterthought during the most impressionable time.

OVERALL
‘Maria’ has no shortage of artistic ambition, primarily in the depths of another entrancing presentation from Pablo Larrain, but it’s ultimately a vehicle for the committed brilliance of Angelina Jolie, who musically and emotionally transforms effortlessly into the cherished singer in ways that will get her one step closer to that elusive golden statue. Despite distracting decisions in the music numbers, and lack of factual accuracy in the storytelling, the film is a refreshingly daring approach to biopics that refuses to phone it in with another telegraphed structure, emanating a larger than life introspection to stage stardom that, like Maria herself, never misses a provocative note.

My Grade: 8/10 or B+