Angelina Jolie‘s new starring role as Maria Callas, a famous opera singer who passed away in the 1970s, is a quirky biopic. In Maria, the film covers the later days of her life as she reflects on her life before her death, and Jolie plays this woman with such a playful, sincere divaness that makes a slow film an entertaining watch. Maria, who cannot sing at her level anymore at that time just, basically wanders and lives in a drug-induced daydream where the drug Mandrax in her reality is a real person, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, interviewing her about her life. These scenes play out straight and end up being quite comical, as you notice that she’s just talking to herself as she walks around Paris. In her “interview,” you get flashbacks to her romance with Aristotle Onassis, played by Haluk Bilginer, and her childhood during World War II. In those, Maria is played by Angelina Papadopoulou and, while short, is quite good in those scenes. Maria is taken care of by Ferruccio (Pierfrancesco Favino), her butler, and Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher), her maid, who in many ways have this complex relationship that feels like a maternal one, a sibling one, and like parents to her that they can’t really protect her from herself and he sadness.
It’s a two-hour film that feels like a two-hour film, and while you can tell Jolie is lip-syncing, it doesn’t take away from the story, and it’s this character study of Maria Callas that keeps you interested in the film. Favino has a quiet performance as Ferruccio. You can see the sadness of not being able to really help Maria as she can’t sing and does nothing but sleep and take drugs. His facial expression, eyes, and physical performance are much through this running gag of Maria having him move a piano back and forth in her home. Rohrwacher balances it out with being full of worry. She reminded me of Isabelle from Animal Crossing for some reason. The three actors make a believable family on screen. As this young man represents a drug and a young man who falls in love with her, Smit-McPhee is a creative way of showing a person’s relationship with addiction. Bilginer is great as this charismatic, old, rich guy who desires Maria but then cages her. She becomes a songbird – something he only wants for himself and not letting the world have access to voice and art. I wouldn’t mind seeing a film about this relationship, not just flashbacks.
I liked Maria, and even though it feels as long as it is, I think it’s a great showcase of acting from all the performers in the film. It is worth taking some time out on Netflix to watch it.
Score: C+
