I was curious about this film after attending my first opera this year in Toronto: “The Cunning Little Vixen” by Leoš Janáček. Now, for the Savannah Film Festival 2024, I was able to experience a prolific performance from one of my favourite actors of all time as one of the most well-known opera singers of all time. The film is the final instalment in Pablo Larraín’s trilogy about significant 20th-century women, following Spencer and Jackie.
Academy Award–winner Angelina Jolie (Eternals, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) plays Maria Callas, one of the most iconic performers of the 20th century in acclaimed director Larraín’s operatic Maria. The film portrays a Greek-American soprano retreating to Paris after a glamorous but chaotic public life. Maria reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days as the diva reckons with her identity and life.
Kodi-Smit-McPhee (Memoir of a Snail, Elvis) is a young journalist named Mandrax (the same name as the drug Callas was known for taking) trying to document Maria’s final days, acting almost as a stand-in for the audience when he asks her questions about her life. Maria’s butler, Ferruccio Mezzadri, tells her that both the man and the drug, named Mandrax, are bad for her, which is ironic.
“Maria reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days as the diva reckons with her identity and life.”
The story was told in three acts, very similar to how a typical opera performance is told. After watching Maria at the Trustees Theater, I realized that opera stars fade away much quicker than movie stars or other celebrities. But this does not mean opera singers are any less important than other celebrities.
Agains, Larraín collaborated with screenwriter Steven Knight to create a poignant story that captures a brief moment in a person’s life. Larraín did the same thing in this film, capturing the last few days of Maria’s life. Immediately, the comedic and dramatic beats were punchy. There were only a few moments that lingered a little longer than a few beats too long. The overall pacing of the film was riveting enough to keep my eyes glued to the screen.
The set design and production design were some of the most charming aspects that caught my eye. While the house appeared like a typical Parisian suite for the elite, there was a mix of plainness and distinction. Maria’s most important decoration was her piano, which she had Ferruccio move around the house nearly every day!
The cinematography never fails to show off some experimental shots within Larraín’s films. There were some well-executed blocking shots, slowly building up to the reveal. One of the experimental shots employed mirrors and glass. The film played a lot with aspect ratios and black-and-white scenes, indicating various moments across Maria’s life.
Larraín’s impressive cinematography in Maria features a dynamic tracking shot of the protagonist briskly walking, reflecting his signature approach seen in his biographical films. He is renowned for framing his shots so that the leading character’s face occupies roughly a third of the screen, allowing their facial expressions to truly shine.
I did not find the music in Maria as impressive as Larraín’s earlier films, but I appreciated Jolie’s effort to learn opera singing. In a panel following the film screening, Larraín detailed how Jolie was singing throughout the movie. He noted how Jolie sang six times on-camera and had to learn the Italian accent too.
Jolie trained her voice for seven months, using Callas’ original recordings in an earpiece during her performances. During editing, Larraín adjusted the singing voice ratios, starting with 90% Callas and 10% Jolie in some scenes, but by the end of the film, it shifted to more Jolie than Callas.
While watching Maria, I assumed they did some mixing of their voices—which was not far off from the truth. I thought the opera singing scenes were good for the storytelling, but I was disappointed with the score. I enjoyed the jazzy score of Spencer to match the psychological elements, but the score in Maria was unfortunately lost.
“Larraín does not miss his mark to spotlight women leads and capture significant moments in these historical women’s lives.”
Larraín does not miss his mark to spotlight women leads and capture significant moments in these historical women’s lives. Jolie was a perfect representation of a sassy opera woman who was trying to rediscover herself. Larraín mentioned in the Q&A that biographical films are more engaging when they explore the gaps in famous figures’ known historical moments.
No one knew what happened in Callas’ Paris apartment in the last week of her life. This is where Larraín likes the freedom to play with the story. Larraín mentioned how he read five biographies on Callas, and there were still a lot of mysteries in her life he could not figure out. He compared this to Jolie’s life, noting that while many recognize her in the spotlight, few know her personally.
I agree with Larraín’s reasoning for not making a full biographical film that covers an entire life or multiple timelines. This is the same reason I was entranced by Kristin Stewart’s performance as Princess Diana in Spencer. Experiencing a brief, mysterious period is more valuable than learning a lifetime of familiar facts from books or documentaries.
Although Maria wasn’t the most intriguing person to me, she sparked my interest in discovering the real Callas. In North America, the general audience is more familiar with Princess Diana and Jacqueline Kennedy than with Callas. But like I said before, the mysterious element weighs a lot on the curious mind. You do not need to be an opera fan to enjoy this film; the mystery and charm of the powerful woman in her final days are captivating.