Shadows on the Wall

Maria

dir Pablo Larrain
scr Steven Knight
prd Juan de Dios Larrain, Pablo Larrain, Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Lorenzo Mieli
with Angelina Jolie, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Haluk Bilginer, Valeria Golino, Stephen Ashfield, Vincent Macaigne, Aggelina Papadopoulou, Christiana Aloneftis, Lydia Koniordou, Alessandro Bressanello
release US 27.Nov.24,
UK 10.Jan.25
24/Italy 2h04

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Gifted Chilean director Pablo Larrain reteams with Spencer writer Steven Knight for another metaphysical biopic, this time about diva of all divas Maria Callas. Set over her final week, the film flickers through her mind to memories and fantasies, exploring both her self-image and her place in the world. The boldly inventive approach pays off in unexpectedly emotional ways. And Angelina Jolie gives her most resonant performance yet.

In September 1977, Maria (Jolie) is living in Paris with her housekeeper Bruna (Rohrwacher) and butler Ferruccio (Favino). She's trying to bring her voice back up to peak form after years abusing prescription meds, while a journalist (Smit-McPhee) is following her with a film crew asking pointed questions. This brings back memories of her love for Aristotle Onassis (Bilginer) and her strained relationship with her sister Yakinthi (Golino). She also revisits key moments from her youth (played by Papadopoulou and Aloneftis), when her mother (Koniordou) ruthlessly pushed her to be a better singer.

Hints of abuse as a child and of being harshly contained by Onassis add context to Maria's yearning to finally control her own destiny. And the film continually weaves in operatic arias through which Maria expresses her bottled up emotions. But it's the script's wry sense of humour that pulls us in, revealed in tiny glances and deadpan moments between the makeshift family unit of Maria, Bruna and Ferruccio. These add some spark to the film's riveting, gently undulating pace.

Performances have an almost dreamy quality that matches the lavish sets and costumes, and the swirl of visual textures. Jolie gives a beautifully full-bodied performance as Maria, singling with every fibre of her being while allowing the audience in to see her internalised thoughts and feelings. This helps create connections that are both warm and sparky, as she interacts with the flurry of people around her. And the terrific supporting ensemble creates people who clearly have full lives off-screen.

These kinds of layers add a vivid earthiness to a film that otherwise looks almost absurdly gorgeous, thanks to cinematographer Edward Lachman and designer Guy Hendrix Dyas. Rather than creating a gritty, realistic look at Maria Callas, Larrain opts for a surreal, painterly style that's mesmerising in its ability to peer beneath the sumptuous, glacial surfaces. It's also the kind of film that urges us look back at our own lives, pondering the mystery of how we got here.

themes, language 19.Oct.24

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