Maria

Maria
Starring Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer
Directed by Pablo Larrain

Opera is easily not my favorite genres of music, as I oftentimes find it really soothing and puts me to sleep, but there's an undeniable talent that operatic singers possess that normal human beings don't. The ability to elevate their voices to such intense levels is something ethereal, and to be able to maintain that vocal range is nothing short of astonishing. So when an opera singer's voice starts to deteriorate, it's like a death sentence - losing the one thing you're passionate about, when the rest of you is still more than willing to perform - and when it happens to the iconic Maria Callas, she takes a retrospective look at her life while trying to maintain a sense of importance.

Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie) was one of opera's most prolific singers, the most influential singers of the 20th century. Her soprano voice was unparalleled, and she lived a lavish lifestyle because of it, along with her butler Ferruccio (Pierfrancesco Favino) and housemaid Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher). Yet as the 1970s progressed, Maria found her voice start to deteriorate, and although she planned a comeback, her voice wasn't as forgiving - and neither was her body, as years of hard living started to catch up with her in the end, as she reflected on her journey and the legacy she would leave behind.

Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain has given a perfect trilogy of films, known as the "Lady With Heels" trilogy, focusing on the real lives of Jackie Kennedy, Diana Spencer, and now Maria Callas. These films ("Jackie," "Spencer," and "Maria") have all been hailed as modern masterpieces, with all the leading ladies (Natalie Portman for "Jackie" and Kristen Stewart for "Spencer") have earned Academy Award nominations for their work - and Jolie is a shoe-in to round out the perfection. Not only does Larrain tell their stories with care, precision, and grace, but each film is a visual work of art, thanks to excellent cinematography and editing that make each one like you're witnessing an elegant painting come to life.

Angelina Jolie has had an exceptional career that's spanned decades, and she can excel in any genre, but this is one of her best performances - at least in the last few years. She fully envelops the woman Maria, and was so committed to knowing the woman that she spent seven months taking opera lessons. While the singing voice belongs to Callas in the film, Jolie's singing was also included, especially coming to the fore in the final act. You can sense she has a deep passion for the project and it shows in her performance, playing Callas as the diva she was always known for, as even when she lost her singing voice she never lost her command of the room - wherever she went, people paid notice.

The film really focuses on Callas and how she endured losing her voice, and correlates to the audience to their own fears of losing a big part of what defines them. Jolie really allows the audience to feel for Maria in deep ways, and Larrain's careful touch aides in that. It's beautifully tragic, enveloped by cinematographer Edward Lachman and production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas's excellent work. The whole film feels like a dream, with Maria breezing through each set piece with ease. Sofía Subercaseaux's editing also makes it feel like a dream, and rightfully doesn't skimp on the singing - they're not snippets of songs from the likes of Bellini or Puccini, but we get to hear the whole song sung by one of opera's most eternally powerful voices.

The Score: A+