For the third time in a decade, director Pablo Larraín has helmed a biographical film about a complex woman, and like the other two, it’s one of the year’s best.
Larraín previously directed 2016’s “Jackie” about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and 2021’s “Spencer” which centered on Princess Diana. His latest is about the opera singer Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie), though it takes place mainly after her illustrious career.
The movie focuses on the last week of the singer’s life, and explores how she was reflective of a career that she lost. Over time, her voice began to fail her, which caused her to leave her profession, and later her health began declining as well. The film is about the culmination of this, with her still at times trying to sing, while looking at the past and dealing with health issues.
Larraín has shown an incredible ability to create moving, layered portraits of women throughout history, and his latest is no exception. “Maria” is a beautiful, tragic feature. It’s a somber look at the final days of a person who remains dignified, but has also lost fulfillment and passion.
An artist no longer able to participate in their art form is an immensely heavy blow, and it has noticeably left Callas without much meaning in life, though she puts on a strong front. The audience sees this in how she carries herself with a sense of pride, even with her health having declined and her developing a substance abuse issue.
Despite this, she still finds time to work with a musician to see if she can still sing, testing out what her vocals can do. It shows her still clinging onto something, as if she’s trying to bring back a piece of herself. These moments, and others in the present where she’s trying to cope with her current state, provide resonating drama.
However, where the film especially shines, and a viewer truly connects with the woman, is in the past. A great deal of the film is made up of flashbacks, with Callas reflecting on her life as an artist, a woman and a romantic partner. It’s a fascinating look into who this person was, and what her career meant to her.
Several scenes show her performing in grand opera houses to full audiences where she soared on stage. These sequences, as well as those where her personal life is explored, on top of the scenes in the present, create a spellbinding cinematic experience. This exploration of the past is aided by an interesting narrative device that provides a unique spin for a biopic.
Larraín and writer Steven Knight deserve a lot of credit for how well the movie works of course, yet there’s no doubt that it is also as good as it is thanks to Jolie. This is monumental performance by the actress, and arguably the best she’s given in any movie. She is sensational in this picture, playing a such a complex woman. Someone who’s hurt but not resigned, confident yet broken.
An audience gets the sense that Callas was a larger-than-life person, both during and after her noteworthy career. It’s also apparent that, like most people, she experienced a plethora of ups and downs in life. All of that and more is convincingly portrayed by Jolie.
The film also benefits from a good supporting cast including Pierfrancesco Favino and Alba Rohrwacher as Callas’ present-day butler and maid, as well as Haluk Bilginer as Aristotle Onassis who she had an affair with. Kodi Smit-McPhee and Stephen Ashfield round out the film nicely with good acting, too.
The film is also stunning to look at, too. Scenes set in the opera have a notable grandeur, while moments exploring Callas’ personal life are properly intimate. As shown in the past with “Jackie” and “Spencer,” Larraín and Co. have a way of visually combining elegance with a melancholy atmosphere to explore the human condition under difficult circumstances. This is no different.
Compared to the other two films mentioned, “Maria” is somewhere in the middle. It’s not quite as strong as “Spencer” but just edges “Jackie.” For all its pros, there are a few aspects about Callas’ life that could have had a bit more light shed on them. But still, this is a powerful biopic and one of 2024’s best cinematic entries. 4.8 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 
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