The new film on Netflix "Maria" was directed by Pablo Larraín. It features Angelina Jolie as the opera singer Maria Callas. This film is based on the true story of Maria during her final days as an opera singer. This is a psychological drama film.
This film follows Maria Callas, a famous opera singer who started singing in Greece. It highlights her days in Paris in the 1970s after leaving the public eye. It also explores her life in isolation, figuring out her identity while showing the profound disparity that Maria experiences throughout her final days in Paris.
Highs
The central high is Jolie’s portrayal of Maria; she captures the pain her character experiences after being isolated. The amount of emotion Maria’s character expresses is undeniable. She is full of hopelessness and pain from losing the one thing that made her identity. Opera was her life’s work, and losing that love destroyed her mentally. Jolie’s performance is impressive and strong.
Another highlight is the flashbacks of Maria’s life before she lost her voice. The black-and-white scenes perfectly capture the past and show the importance of her career at the time.Maria's relationships as a young opera singer showed how older men perceived her in the past and added to her pain.
Maria’s outfits capture the true fashion of Paris in the 1970s. They show her elegance as an opera singer. In the flashbacks, the dresses she wore during her performances were beautiful.
The last high of the film is how caring her butler is. He tries to protect her as much as he can. This shows that she had people who loved her for her, not the fame. This captures the truth behind her relationships at her home. She cared for her staff, unlike other famous people.
Lows
The lows in the film are the lack of depth in Maria Callas, which led her to lose her voice. The backstory behind how she became ill at a showing takes away from the information the audience needs to know to understand the story thoroughly. The film was slow at the beginning, especially for those who do not know Maria Callas.
Another low is the character depth behind Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer) as the film lacks background information about his true motive for pursuing Maria. Maria’s feelings towards Aristotle were unclear as well, and she did not know why she loved him. She also always believed that he wanted to control her; this shows the toxicity in their relationship.
The last low is why her relationship with her sister Yakinthi disappeared. Their bond was not gone, and there was no explanation for them disconnecting.
Verdict
"Maria" is worth watching if one enjoys classical music and opera singers. The film shows the history behind Maria Callas, one of the most famous opera performers.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Mariam Fakhreddine is a film and theater reviewer for The Eastern Echo. She has worked as a news and features reporter for The Echo for two years.
