Maria is a new biographical film about renowned opera singer Maria Callas directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Steven Knight. Starring Angelina Jolie in the titular role, the film focuses primarily on the final years of Callas’ life and the complicated story behind her death. Maria has been a highly anticipated release due to praise around Jolie’s performance, with many calling it one of the best of her career and a contender in a year of radically competitive acting performances (as far as awards season goes).
Furthermore, Maria is the third installment in a trilogy of films by Larraín that highlight historical female figures within a concentrated period of their lives, preceded by Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021). The stars of both of these films (Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart, respectively) went on to receive Oscar nominations for their work. Thus, the hype around Maria is understandable, especially as it pertains to Jolie’s performance. So, aside from the acting hype, what actually happens in Maria? What can we make of its ending, and how does it tie into Maria’s larger themes?
4/5
Maria
- Release Date
- November 27, 2024
- Cast
- Angelina Jolie , Pierfrancesco Favino , Alba Rohrwacher , Haluk Bilginer , Kodi Smit-McPhee , Valeria Golino , Stephen Ashfield , Alessandro Bressanello , Vincent Macaigne , Lydia Korniordou , Rebecka Johnston , Botond Bartus , Marcell Lengyel , Philipp Droste , Jeremy Wheeler , Luca Gréta Felhalmi , Zora Gerda Fejes , Kay Madsen , Toma Hrisztov , Christiana Aloneftis , Aggelina Papadopoulou
- Runtime
- 123 Minutes
What Happens in Maria?
The film centers on Callas’ last years in the 1970s living at her Paris home. She lives with her butler, Ferruccio (Pierfranceso Favino), and housemaid, Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher), who tend to her every need. Every day, Ferruccio checks in with Maria to see how many pills she has taken and keeps a log. He usually assumes that she has taken more than she says and denotes as such, as the pills and her dependency on them make her hallucinate. Lately, Maria has been hallucinating various opera scenes and songs reminiscent of her performance days past. In her day, she was regarded as the Prima Donna, or often simply “La Callas,” but she has mysteriously stopped performing entirely and effectively gone into hiding.
Ferruccio and Bruna begin to worry about Maria’s health. Her pill habits worsen, she refuses to eat, and she wanders unexpectedly. One day, Ferruccio sends for a doctor, but Maria refuses to see him. Instead, she entertains a documentary crew (which may or may not be an imaginary interaction as a result of the drugs she has taken) who are making a film about her life. Maria divulges various life secrets to the documentary crew, such as the details of her love affair with business magnate Aristotle Onassis, for whom she is still holding a candle.
Maria also decides that she would like to try singing again and heads to sing with an old friend, Tate, in private, but grows frustrated when she does not sound like “La Callas.” Tate insists they just need to keep trying. In one operatic/hallucinatory flashback, we see a young Maria and her sister being forced by their mother to sing to soldiers for money.
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When Maria arrives home from singing with Tate, the doctor is waiting for her despite her resistance and conducts some bloodwork. Maria proceeds to hide pills throughout the house so that Ferruccio and Bruna no longer know that she has them. She continues interviewing with the documentary crew, explaining how she came to love Onassis despite both of them being married to other people. Maria also implies that Onassis was the one who ultimately drove her to stop singing. The doctor calls Ferruccio and insists that he needs to talk to Maria, but she refuses to return his call.
Maria continues to try singing again with Tate, making progress but struggling to find strength in her voice. One day, a reporter sneaks in while she is singing, and Maria attacks him, affirming her “diva” status. Bruna and Ferruccio beg Maria repeatedly to call the doctor, but she declines. Eventually, the doctor arrives at her home and tells her that her drug use is slowly killing her. Futhermore, the doctor suggests that Maria stop singing, as it is too demanding for her body. Maria insists that she will keep singing, as it is the first time in her life she has ever done it for herself.
How Does ‘Maria’ End?
As they do on a typical day, Ferruccio and Bruna attempt to wake Maria. She is more hesitant to rise than usual, so they promise to go out and grocery shop for her favorite foods. While they are gone, the combination of her illness and drug dependency make her start to see visions of a grand opera finale in her mind. Maria then gives her final performance. She sings a full aria in a white gown from her Paris balcony. After her final epic note, she collapses in her living room, still wearing her nightgown. Ferruccio and Bruna return to find her and call the police.
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Earlier in the film, Maria says a few specific things about her relationship to opera and singing. One is that she believes that a good vocal performance comes from a place of anguish. As she sings her song, it is painful, a reflection on a life led in pursuit of art. Another is a large part of her motivation in singing was receiving adoration. In this final dramatic moment, Maria imagines that all the people of Paris stop in their tracks to watch her sing. As a woman who spent her whole life seeking validation and applause, this marks her final standing ovation.
The first shot of the film saw police officers, Ferruccio, and Bruna at the scene of Maria’s death, but the audience did not yet know that it was the scene of Maria’s death. As a bookend, the film ends with the same shot from the beginning. This time, we also see Ferruccio and Bruna walk away into the foreground. One of Maria’s last wishes once she knew that she was dying was that Bruna and Butler stay together. The audience sees that wish actualized in the final shot. Ferruccio and Bruna give the audience a knowing look, as if to say they were the only two people who really knew Maria as a person, not a talent or a legacy.
Maria is available to stream on Netflix from December 11.
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