A One Mann’s Movies review of “Maria” (2025).
Directed by Pablo Larraín, the Maria in question here is the peerless opera soprano Maria Callas. We follow the diva through the last week of her life in Paris in September 1977, where she died of a heart attack aged just 53.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“Maria” Plot Summary:
It’s Paris in September 1977. The butler Ferruccio (Pierfrancesco Favino) and housekeeper Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher) are kept on their toes by the diva-like behaviour of their mistress, Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie). The singer is past her prime but still dreams of ‘getting her voice back’. Her attempts are not helped by the cocktail of drugs she is taking which cause her to continually suffer hallucinations.
Certification:
UK: 12A; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Drug misuse, moderate sex references, infrequent strong language”. This is one of those intriguing films that is an R in the US but is only a 12A in the UK. This seems to be due to the scene in which Maria and her young sister are prostituted to Nazi soldiers, though this is by implication only.)
Talent:
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Caspar Phillipson, Valeria Golino, Stephen Ashfield, Lydia Koniordou, Vincent Macaigne, Alessandro Bressanello.
Directed by: Pablo Larraín.
Written by: Steven Knight.
Running Time: 2h 4m.
“Maria” Summary:
Positives:
- Sumptuous to look at.
- Angelina Jolie delivers a great performance.
Negatives:
- As an ‘unreliable narrator’ I’m not sure we learned a tremendous amount more about Callas.
- Some clunky dialogue.
- It’s rather a sombre and non-engaging film.
Review of “Maria”:
The unreliable narrator.
We learn from the outset in this film that Maria is not to be trusted with her recollections. Guzzling tablets, sometimes secretly, her hallucinations make it difficult to tell what is real and what is not. We as the viewer are sometimes shown Maria’s view of the world and sometimes the actual view of the world. For example, Maria is talking to a camera crew, recounting past incidents in her eventful life. But you know that this is just her own very real fantasy when she tells Ferruccio and Bruna that the interviewer (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is called Mandrax , the same addictive sedative/hypnotic drug that she is taking.
For this reason, I was never sure whether some of Maria’s past experiences were true or not. They probably are. But the way they are presented, I was never certain.
This was not helped along by Steven Knight’s script which delivers us some clunky dialogue that didn’t sound like anything anyone would say in real life.
A remarkable life.
She certainly seems to have led a dynamic life. Apparantly prostituted by her mother to German soldiers during the occupation of Greece; singing in some of the greatest arenas in the world; her affair with Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer) while still married to her husband Giovanni Battista Meneghini (Alessandro Bressanello); her relationship with JFK (Caspar Phillipson) and the two-timing affairs between Onassis with Jackie Kennedy and Maria.
It’s curious, of course, that in this respect the Venn diagrams of Pablo Larraín’s films overlap here. Larraín directed “Jackie” in 2016: a film I really rated. You don’t actually see Jackie Kennedy in this film, but it would have been neat if they’d have been a brief Natalie Portman cameo!
A strong acting performance by Jolie.
Angelina Jolie has been cutting back on her roles of late. This is her first film since “Eternals” in 2021. But she delivers a really strong performance. In a very strong year for female roles, I suspect she will not make the Oscar’s nominations list for this. But if she did, her Oscar reel would be the moment where she has a confrontation with her doctor (Vincent Macaigne). He insults her by telling her that her “voice” is now in heaven. She orders him to “Get Out”, brimming with anger and with tears pricking in her eyes. It’s a brilliant movie moment.
Great production design.
As in Pablo Larraín’s two previous biopics, “Jackie” (which I really liked) and “Spencer” (which I really disliked), the film is wonderful to look at – sumptious production design and beautifully shot by DP Edward Lachman.
Summary Thoughts on “Maria”
This is a solidly-made film, but I didn’t find it hugely engaging. And given it is effectively a two-hour death march (we open and close with her dead body), it’s a very sombre affair. It is not one I will be rushing to rewatch.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Maria”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du4L5ikk5Ms.
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