I was quite skeptical about ‘Maria‘, the biopic (or kind of biopic) that Steven Steven Knight wrote and Pablo Larraín directed for Netflix, released at the end of 2024. It is the third film, perhaps the final film, in a trilogy that the Chilean-born director has dedicated to famous women who have marked the history of the 20th century. Like ‘Jackie‘ (Kennedy – Onassis) and (Diana) ‘Spencer‘, ‘Maria‘ (Callas) was not only famous, but also a media star, she was photographed and filmed copiously during her lifetime and was the subject of documentaries and fiction films of various formats after her death. Changing their public image or adding something to the perception of them is not an easy challenge. In the main roles, as in the previous films, Larraín has cast a famous actress and herself the subject of the attention, often excessive, of the press and the public. The main difference is that in the case of the film ‘Maria‘ the heroine of the film was a great artist, one of the most formidable – many say the most formidable – sopranos in the history of opera. When it comes to bringing an artist to the screen, the film has another essential dimension for me. Curiosity and empathy towards the character as a person add to the emotion and vibration I feel towards the artist. Unfortunately, at least from this point of view, ‘I was quite skeptical about ‘Maria‘ somewhat confirmed my fears.
Steven Knight chose a rather original narrative structure. First of all, it is not a classic biographical film, certainly not a docu-drama that chronologically tells the life of the artist. The film begins and ends with the death of Maria Callas, with the script focusing on her last week of life. This week she gives a filmed interview for a television crew in which she shares memories and reflects about her life and career, but even here we deal only apparently with the known formula of biography through interview. There are several such interviews that can be seen on the Internet, but the one in the film is imaginary. The reporter is named after the anti-depressant drug that Maria Callas took in excess and against the advice of her doctor. This week she is also doing something else: together with a pianist she is testing her voice and her powers. Is it an attempt to return to the stage? Or maybe she just wants to test herself by doing what had been essential for her life – singing on stage? It is certain that the physical and emotional effort precipitates her end, but it is her choice. Maria Callas chooses her own path, as she did all her life after overcoming the traumas of her childhood and adolescence during the war and the occupation. Her own path in life, in art and in love. This is, metaphorically if not literally, a death on stage.
The script seems original and interesting to me. My main problem with this film was with Angelina Jolie’s performance. I tried, I really tried, but at no point did I feel like I was seeing Maria Callas on screen and not Angelina Jolie playing the role of Maria Callas. I appreciate the actress’s efforts to get into the role, to learn (as much as one can learn at her age in a few months) to sing opera, and even to contribute to an electronic mix of her voice with that of Maria Callas. I was not convinced. I don’t know if it’s me or her or both or something else, but that’s the situation. Maria Callas brought a fundamental change in the way opera is sung on stage. None of this appears in the film. Whether or not she loved Onassis, whether or not she rejected Kennedy’s advances, whether or not she hated popularity even though she used it to reach the peak, that is less interesting to me. The portrayal is truthful, but the actress’s performance is problematic, in my opinion. There are several other interesting figures orbiting around the character and the actress, and these are opportunities for solid supporting roles. Alba Rohrwacher is a talented actress, but she is not helped by an unsuccessful makeup, which made me wonder why she had to be cast as a woman 30 years older. Pierfrancesco Favino, on the other hand, is magnificent as the valet Ferruccio, and Kodi Smit-McPhee creates a memorable role as the imaginary fantomatic character of Dr. Mantrax. The set designers did an excellent job, in my opinion, creating the diva’s Parisian apartment at the end of her life – implausible but so appropriate for an opera scene. ‘Maria‘, despite objections – and I have quite a few – is an interesting film to watch and discuss, not just for fans of the art of opera.