'Maria' (2024, dir. Pablo Larraín) Review

Jolie as Callas.

In this haunting, if borderline depressing film Maria (2024), Pablo Larraín completes his trilogy of films focusing on important female figures of the 20th century by taking the famed opera singer Maria Callas as its subject (its predecessors being Spencer and Jackie about Princess Diana and Jackie Kennedy/Onassis respectively). Angelina Jolie is given the role of a lifetime as Maria Callas as she plays the singer in the last week of her life, beginning on the day she died and working its way backwards, living in Paris in September 1977. The film takes us even further back in time to Maria’s youth in Athens, her time on the stage and to her relationship with Aristotle Onassis as she recounts her life to a television crew just before she dies.

What Maria consistently does well is maximise the use of cinematography in innovative ways. Black and white cinematography is used in the flashbacks across Maria’s life, and film that looks as though it’s been shot on a Super 8 camera is used to capture Maria’s performances on the stage during her heyday; at some points it also uses stark green lighting that seemingly references Hitchcock and Vertigo (1958) most notably. Moreover, the film is interjected by shots of a clapper board that signals the beginning of each act during the film; Act I being 'La Diva', Act II 'The Important Truth' and Act III 'Curtain Call'. It's an interesting addition to the film that reminds us that we're watching a reconstruction of Callas' final days and not something that is attempting to relay the absolute truth. During its present day, the screen is engulfed in a warm yellow glow that further romanticises Paris during the autumn (particularly in the 70s), but far from romanticises Callas’ state of existence. She is plagued by her addiction to prescription medication and refuses to talk to the doctor about her health, and is instead focused on getting her voice back to what it was, which for her is akin to getting her identity and self-worth back.

Not only does the film flick between the past and the present, but also between reality and fantasy. It’s suggested that Maria’s deterioration is so bad that she is often having hallucinations. Sometimes the line between reality and fantasy isn’t clearly defined, which can make it quite difficult to understand parts of the film and exactly what is going on, but this could possibly be the point. What is clear, however, is how much Larraín loves slow, sweeping long takes. Whilst these can be beautiful when used effectively, they can sometimes disrupt the pace of the film. There were a couple of scenes in Maria that made me question how long they were going to go on for, because they weren’t adding much to the story and needn’t have been so (very) long. I also found the first act of the film to be very slow - it took a while to really be engrossed by the film and to actually grasp the plot.

Despite all of this, it is Angelina Jolie’s performance as Maria that is the most standout aspect of the film. She captures the singer’s ‘diva’ personality, her fierce independence (“to be a possession, in a cabinet, is not my ambition”) and her sometimes demanding nature, whilst also making her endearing and someone we can relate to. What’s more, Jolie brings humour and such heartbreaking melancholy, as well as her brilliant singing voice, to the role that it is almost certain that she will be nominated for all the major awards this next awards season (after all, we know how much the Academy loves to nominate a heartbreaking performance in a biopic). Jolie fully inhabits Maria and you can tell how much she wanted to do her and her fans justice.

Even if Maria paints Callas as a tragic figure in the end, similar to what Judy did with Judy Garland, it is still absolutely worth the watch, even if just for Jolie’s performance and the cinematography alone. It’s a decent conclusion to Larraín’s 20th century icons trilogy, and it will be interesting to see what project he undertakes next.

Disclaimer: I do not own the image used.