Angelina Jolie's first leading role in over a decade saw her score her ninth Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of internationally feted opera diva Maria Callas - but that was just a warm-up. All eyes are now on Jolie to hit the right notes during this year’s Oscars race.
Chilean director Pablo Larraín’s final chapter in his unofficial arthouse trilogy of twentieth century women haunted with public tragedies - Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021) – beautifully marches to its own beat.
The story of La Callas, the American-born Greek soprano, famed for her stellar voice and her far from pitch perfect private life, is less known than Jackie O or Princess Diana, but worth tuning in for.
Set over her final week in Paris - she died in 1977 less than three months shy of her 53rd birthday - Larraín’s offering showcases a heart-rending portrait of a woman who is self-destructive yet self-aware, as control over her life and voice is muted.
Shot by Ed Lachman (Erin Brockovich, Carol) and written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, the 124-minute offering often feels like a fever dream as it serves us a fleeting glance of the majesty and tragedy of Maria’s life via prescription drug-induced hallucinations and immersive flashbacks rendered in stark black-and-white.
More than half a year of vocal training was required for Jolie’s own singing voice to be blended in harmoniously with that of Callas – a task that contributes significantly to the exquisitely calibrated piece of filmmaking.
Jolie deserves all the flower tossing, applause and to be part of the Best Actress Oscar conversation. The eight-minute standing ovation she received at the Venice Film Festival is more than justified.
Screenwriter Steven Knight (who also wrote Spencer with Larraín) tries to take us as close as possible to La Davina by offering an unsanitised look at Maria’s traumatic childhood in Athens. In later scenes she breezily scolds John F. Kennedy (Caspar Phillipson) when he inquires about Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer) spending time with his wife.
The central relationship between the famed singer and her trusted butler (Pierfrancesco Favino’s Ferruccio) and housekeeper (Alba Rohrwacher’s Bruna) adds a worthwhile melody to the soprano’s solo nature.
The film also benefits from the director’s affinity with the territory nurtured in him since he was a child attending operas with his mother. His passion for the art can be heard in grand interludes of celebrated 19th-century composers such as Verdi and Puccini.
By the final aria, Maria's voice crescendos over the person, and viewers are left with a symphony of unanswered questions about her artistic aspirations.
"I don’t want to go just yet," Callas tells her pianist midway through the movie. A sentence that will strike a chord with viewers long after the credits play out.
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