glides through the final days of Maria Callas' short life in 鈥淢aria,鈥� a dramatic, evocative elegy to the famed soprano. It鈥檚 an affair that鈥檚 at turns melancholy, biting and grandly theatrical, an aria for a once in a generation star.
Reality is of little consequence on the stage and in 鈥淢aria.鈥� It鈥檚 all about the raw feeling, which serves the movie well, more dream than history lesson about . Early on, she pops some Mandrax and tells her devoted butler Ferruccio (a simply wonderful Pierfrancesco Favino) that a television crew is on the way. Are they real, he wonders.
鈥淎s of this morning, what is real and what is not real is my business,鈥� she says calmly and definitively, making a feast out of Steven Knight鈥檚 sharp script. It鈥檚 one of many great lines and moments for Jolie, whose intensity and resolve belie her fragile appearance. And it鈥檚 a signal to the audience as well: Don鈥檛 fret about dull facts or that Jolie doesn鈥檛 really resemble Callas all that much. This is a biopic as opera 鈥� an emotional journey fitting of the great diva, full of flair, beauty, betrayal, revelations and sorrow.
In 鈥淢aria,鈥� we are the companion to a protagonist with an ever-loosening grip on reality, walking with her through Paris, and her life, for one week in September 1977.
The images from cinematographer , playfully shifting in form and style, take us on a scattershot journey through her triumphs on stage, her scandalous romance with Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer) and her traumatic youth. In the present, at age 53, she sleeps till midday, drinks the minimal calories she ingests, goes to restaurants where the waiters know her name looking for adulation and has visions of performances staged just for her all around the city.
Callas is always immaculately dressed and assured, whether reflecting to the imagined news crew (led by Kodi Smit-McPhee) or attempting to find her voice again. Her instrument had famously diminished, leaving her wondering what鈥檚 left to live for. The only consistent praise she gets is from her obedient housemaid Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher). It鈥檚 no secret that the destination is death. And you suspect that she knows quite well that everything will be a big dimmer when her spotlight is turned off.
Larra铆n has made a lasting mark on cinema with his unofficial trilogy about these famous women with tragic narratives. With and now 鈥淢aria,鈥� his films are also an unintentional antidote to Ryan Murphy鈥檚 stranglehold of the grand dames of recent history, which are all style and scandal and little substance. And yet Larra铆n's films are not for everyone. If 鈥淛ackie鈥� and 鈥沦辫别苍肠别谤鈥� did not speak to you, did not show those women as you hoped they would, 鈥淢aria鈥� will not turn you into a believer. Three movies in, it seems that audiences are either very on board with his vision or not. There is little room for an in between.
And yet it's hard to deny that his films are incredible showcases for actors. Jolie as a movie star is somehow both omnipresent and elusive, and lately she chooses to step in front of the camera all too infrequently. Sometimes you wish she could just follow in footsteps, for whom quantity does not seem to ever jeopardize quality, and she seems to be having fun doing it all, all the time. Perhaps it鈥檚 because performances like Jolie鈥檚 in 鈥淢aria鈥� look so all-consuming.
In the film, Maria scolds a fan for daring to question that she faked sickness to miss a performance. He doesn鈥檛 understand the total commitment of body and soul required to make it look effortless, which is probably true. Jolie is not so dramatic, at least publicly, about what it takes to create art. But here the lines blur: Character and actor blend so seamlessly, so ferociously, that you leave not just with heightened empathy for La Callas but Jolie as well.
In one of the film鈥檚 few regrettable scenes, she鈥檚 put face to face with John F. Kennedy (no fault of Caspar Phillipson), whose wife has caught the greedy eye of Onassis. As a testament to the power of Jolie and the script, you almost forgive yet another JFK impersonation for giving her one of the great brushoffs to utter, romantic and withering all at once. Is it all a little much? Of course, but that鈥檚 kind of the point of Maria.
鈥淢aria,鈥� a Netflix release in select theaters now and streaming Dec. 11, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for 鈥渁 sexual reference, some language.鈥� Running time: 122 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
