MARIA

Director: Pablo Larraín
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Casper Phillipson, Haluk Bilginer

Pablo Larraín has previously made films following the lives of Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana. Now he’s turning to legendary opera singer Maria Callas in Maria. Director Pablo Larraín opens Maria at the very end of her life. It’s September 16, 1977 as Maria Callas’ butler and housemaid come to her apartment and find her body on the floor. It’s a beautiful and somber image as the film that cuts to a montage of home videos of different performances and appearances of Maria’s life on stage. Angelina Jolie plays Callas in the film which sets out to act like a fantasy moment of reflection. After the montage, screenwriter Steve Knight cuts back to just one week prior as Maria finds herself in failing health. She makes it clear to her staff that she no longer wants to be on stage as it’s been four and a half years since her last appearance and her voice isn’t what it once was. She’s mentally unstable but willing to give an interview under her own terms. Kodi Smit-Phee plays Mandrax, but it’s not long until you realize that his character is not real but rather a hallucination caused by the drug Mandrax that she’s taking. This supposed interview offers the story a framework for her reflections on her celebrated career, complicated relationship with Aristotle Onassis, and what it meant to lose her voice. Streaming on Netflix

Here’s my review