29/26
Maria Callas: Book me a table at a café where the waiters know who I am
Narrative
Maria Callas, the world's greatest opera singer, lives the last days of her life in 1970s Paris, as she confronts her identity and life.. Angelina Jolie and director Pablo Larraín discuss how they connected to the heartbreaking true story of the world-renowned opera singer Maria Callas.. The third and final film in Pablo Larraín's so-called "Lady with Heels" trilogy of female-led biopics, following Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021)..
I’m in the mood for adulation
Referenced in Close-Up: Why do We Need the Venice Film Festival? (2024). This movie came as a pleasant surprise to me.
The representation of the era is quite meticulous too
It is not only the great, studied performance by Jolie, an actress that hadn’t really convinced me of her ability to act up until now. Nevertheless, in this movie, all the self-admiring, borderline narcissistic traits are absent. Jolie, immerses herself in Maria’s fragile, overall declining character and produces a more than convincing portrait worth accolades.
All in proper doses
The really pleasant surprises are the directorial approach and the screenplay. Focusing on her last week before dying it has a balanced approach to her memories through several flashbacks, her past and current relationships, her adoration of music and opera, her failing health, her feeble attempts for a comeback, her warped perception of reality through the use of a slew of barbiturates, her nostalgia, her need for adulation and love. A fine two hours spent getting in touch with Maria..not the Callas!!!.
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