Director Pablo Larraín has made a name for himself with his complex examinations of historical female figures. Beginning with 2016’s Jackie, Larraín delivered one of the most cerebral and compelling portrayals of Jacqueline Kennedy ever captured on film. Following that success came Spencer, his “fable from a true tragedy,” which offered a haunting, melancholic triumph that shed fresh and insightful light on Princess Diana’s story.
With Jackie and Spencer under his belt, Larraín completes his trilogy with Maria, a meticulous and shattering insight into the life of opera singer Maria Callas. Echoing moments from Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, Maria serves as a poignant swan song for Larraín’s unofficial trilogy, led by a transcendent and career-best performance from Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie.
Like the first two films, Maria spans a week in the life of its subject—the final week of Maria Callas’s life. During this time, Callas grapples with her declining health, the memories of past love, and her last, desperate attempt to reclaim her once-iconic singing voice.
Written by Steven Knight, Maria’s screenplay zeroes in on Callas’s most vulnerable moments. While those around her continue to elevate and praise her, the harsh reality of her situation is unmistakable. Knight’s script captures the weight of her delusions and the fragility of her mind, though at times, these moments can feel cold and disconnected from reality. Still, the script largely succeeds in portraying Callas’s internal state.
Larraín’s direction, as always, is masterful. While he keeps the audience at an intentional arm’s length, his challenging approach is both precise and welcome. Larraín and Knight explore the emotional core of Callas, and while not every beat lands perfectly, the journey is certainly worth the exploration.
As with his previous films, the technical aspects of Maria are stunning. Ed Lachman’s cinematography is among the best of the year. His use of chromed-out black-and-white sequences for the past, contrasted with a vibrant color palette for the present, captures the complexity of Callas’s life beautifully.
In Jackie, Natalie Portman delivered a career-best performance, and in Spencer, Kristen Stewart followed with an extraordinary turn. It’s no surprise that Maria gifts cinephiles with an equally remarkable performance from Angelina Jolie. Jolie is sensational, capturing Callas’s internal struggle with heartbreaking precision. Her portrayal delivers one of 2024’s most impactful emotional punches, and it would be shocking not to hear Jolie’s name among the five Best Actress nominees come Oscar morning.
On the supporting side, Alba Rohrwacher and Pierfrancesco Favino are excellent as Callas’s housekeeper and butler, offering both praise and quiet understanding of her deteriorating condition. However, while it’s always nice to see Kodi Smit-McPhee on screen, his inclusion felt somewhat misguided, leading to moments of disconnect within the film.
Maria is a fitting conclusion to Pablo Larraín’s unofficial biopic trilogy. While it may not reach the same heights as Jackie or Spencer, the film and Angelina Jolie’s stellar performance make this a must-watch for cinephiles when it arrives on Netflix later this year.
