‘Maria’
Pablo Larrain’s newest film is a divine, yet heartbreaking look into the tortured life of Maria Callas
To most people, Maria Callas is merely a beautiful voice. She was an American and Greek soprano, and one of the greatest opera singers of all time. But to Pablo Larrain, Callas was a mystifying figure with a tortured life that demands to be explored. In his latest film, Maria, Larrain follows his own trend on focussing on a specific moment in time for the prolific figures he studies. For Callas, he concentrates on the last week of her life.
Larrain’s ‘Famous-Tortured-Women-Cinematic-Universe' ends with Maria. The first film in this trilogy is Jackie, about Jaqueline Kennedy in the days after JFK’s assassination. The second film is Spencer, about Princess Diana in a pivotal moment of her life in which she considers leaving the Royal family. All their stories are told in distinct ways and have a hazy, dream-like quality to them. Perhaps because Larrain strays away from using the term biopic, as he believes they are not incredibly faithful to the subject. In an interview with IndieWire, he expands by saying “biopics are a cultural fantasy ... you can’t make a movie about anyone and go out to the world and say this is who this person was.”
Maria Callas was a person who the press loved to hate. Yes, she was temperamental and had a dramatic life, but there didn’t seem to be a convincing reason for such animosity. In the film, due to the trauma she's faced through her life, she turns to substance abuse. This is explored in Maria through an interview conducted by a filmmaker named ‘Mandrax’ that takes place over the course of the week. In between speaking to the filmmaker about her illustrious career and how she is coping during her hiatus, she is attempting to sing again with the help of a conductor and friend of hers but struggles immensely. This only makes her addiction worse despite her housekeeper and butler making desperate attempts to hide the medication.
Callas was very powerful and sung like her life depended on it every single time. Larrain portrays her desperation perfectly through hallucinogenic sequences that blur the line between reality and fiction. Although at the same time, she was a woman of supreme elegance which was conveyed beautifully through the hazy cinematography and graceful design choices. Cinematographer Edward Lachman along with Larrain decided to only utilise cameras that were available in the 1970s. The use of wide angles and close ups also communicates a sense of distance from Callas, like you are trying so hard to understand her psyche but can never quite get there. It's also hard to not get swept up in the gorgeous interior design of her home which allows a peek into her personality beyond the facade of power. She was very strong in her sense of self and knew not to be treated in ways she did not deserve. Many at the time would have called her a diva, but Maria made me realise that she was deeply misunderstood.
Angelia Jolie plays the titular role to perfection. When someone so famous and recognisable plays someone else that is also famous, it can be hard to keep up the illusion. Jolie manages to transform herself completely into Callas, to the point where half the time I’d completely forget it was Jolie on screen. In terms of imitating Callas’ wondrous voice, Larrain made sure to not make it sound like a karaoke competition. Jolie went to vocal coaches to perfect her posture and breathing; she would spend countless hours training to be able to sing in front of the camera. When I learnt she was authentically singing instead of it entirely being voiceover work, I was even more impressed with her performance. Angelina Jolie is magnetic and has clearly given everything to Maria, it absolutely is the defining role of her career.
The film begins and ends with the death of Callas, at the beginning I was slightly detached but intrigued about how the film would backtrack and lead the audience to that point. Once I reached the end, I was a complete and utter mess. In all his films Larrian not only presents extravagant production design and cinematography, but he is also able to have such empathy for the protagonist. Maria is operatic. It is extravagant, theatrical, and deeply moving. I encourage everyone to experience this miracle of a film!
Maria is in Australian cinemas on the 30th of January.
