Known for his biographical films on notable figures throughout history with ‘Jackie,’ ‘Spencer,’ and the Oscar-nominated ‘El Conde,’ Pablo Larraín now directs ‘Maria,’ a biographical drama film on one of the most influential opera singer of all time, Maria Callas. The film stars Angelina Jolie in its leading role of Callas.
‘Maria’ world premiered at the 81st Venice Film Festival and is set to screen at other festivals including the 62nd New York Film Festival and the 60th Chicago Film Festival.
Release Date
Directed by Pablo Larraín, ‘Maria’ opens in select US theaters on November 27, 2024 and on Netflix on December 11, 2024.
Synopsis
Academy Award–winner Angelina Jolie is Maria Callas, one of the most iconic performers of the 20th century in acclaimed director Larraín’s operatic Maria. The film follows the American-Greek soprano as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye. Maria reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days as the diva reckons with her identity and life.
“This film is my most personal work yet. It is a creative imagining and psychological portrait of Maria Callas who, after dedicating her life to performing for audiences around the world, decides finally to find her own voice, her own identity, and sing for herself,” said director Pablo Larrain on the film. “I’m deeply honored to tell this story and share it with audiences worldwide like Maria did with her life.”
Reviews
David Ehrlich in an IndieWire review gave the film a score of B-, writing, “Jolie’s broadly theatrical but delicately unraveling performance feels immersive and self-revealing in equal measure, as if Maria Callas is a conduit for her to reclaim her own identity as an artist and a human being.”
David Rooney in a Hollywood Reporter review also praised the film, writing, “The naked emotionality and piercing tragedy of the immortal operatic heroines is a poignant fit for Callas’ end-of-life story and a useful counterpoint to her studied poise and aloofness in this interpretation.”
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for ‘Maria.’