Pablo Larrain has made movies about Princess Diana and Jackie Kennedy Onassis that were captivating because of their respective stars’ performances. Kristen Stewart as Diana and Natalie Portman as Jackie were memorable even if the movies were flat.
Now comes Angelina Jolie in Larain’s “Maria,” about opera diva Maria Callas. The big problem, of course, is that almost no one under 60 knows who Callas was anymore. Larrain and screenwriter Steven Knight don’t do her any favors. They simply assume the world is interested in hearing Callas tell her story to a documentary filmmaker. And that’s where things go wrong.
Fortunately, Angelina Jolie, with regal cheekbones and jawline you could open sealed letters with, is so captivating you wind up watching “Maria’ just to see what she’ll do with the material. Jolie gives a great performance in a weird movie, but that’s okay. Her commitment to Callas — who lives on prescription drugs — is noteworthy.
Unfortunately, unless you’re over 60, no one knows who Aristote Onassis was, and the movie never explains. Even though Callas was married, and then Onassis was married, they had a love affair that went on for years. They were the subject of American interest because Onassis married former First Lady Jackie Kennedy. The whole saga was an enigma. That was the real opera, not “Tosca.”
Larrain and Knight don’t explain this upfront, so it’s hard to understand why we’re even here. It’s not for the opera, since the audience for that is limited at best, and older than any demographic. Jolie sings a bit, and her voice is mixed in with Callas recordings. But the singing never feels natural even when Jolie is at her haughtiest.
I sort of knew that Maria Callas was a Diva with a capital D, though I never gave it much thought. Since the movie doesn’t really flesh out her background in a substantive way, the Callas part disappears as Jolie becomes sort of her own creation, just one who can sing. She seems a little like Gloria Swanson in “Sunset Boulevard.” When Jolie puts on Callas’s thick glasses, she looks more like an older Sophia Loren, someone a little more accessible maybe to audiences who watch TCM.
You know, kudos to Netflix and Larrain for keeping Callas’s flame burning at all. But the film is a downer. Callas, Onassis, et al were part of the jet set, yet no one is having a bit of fun. There’s a lot of doom and gloom. On the upside, the sets, costumes, and scenic design are top notch. And cinematographer Ed Lachman is in his glory.
Lachman will add one more Oscar nomination to his three already, and deserves to win at this point. Jolie will get her Oscar nom — she already has a supporting statue for “Girl Interrupted.” Her sense of timing rises above the deficiencies here.
PS a shout out to Valeria Golino, who used to be in a lot of American movies like “Rain Man” but turned to directing pictures in Italy. She really has one scene her as Maria’s sister, and she nails it. She’s the only actor in this film who can go head to head with Jolie.
“Maria” gets an Oscar run in theaters, then heads to Netflix on December 11th. If I were in Netflix marketing I’d promote it like crazy on PBS, NOR, and radio stations like WQXR FM in New York. That’s where they will find an appreciative audience.
Monday, December 23, 2024
