Maria

My nephew and I went to a matinee of Maria at the Broadway yesterday and, even though it is my least favorite of Pablo Larrain's portraits of enigmatic women, I absolutely loved Angelina Jolie's bravura performance.  Maria Callas (Jolie) spends the final days of her life in Paris reminiscing about her celebrated career on stage and her turbulent relationship with Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer), worrying her devoted butler (Pierfrancesco Favino) and housekeeper (Alba Rohrwacher) with her increasing dependence on prescription drugs, and rehearsing with a vocal coach (Stephen Ashfield) to improve her deteriorating voice in an attempt to become La Callas again.  She also has regular hallucinations in which a reporter named Mandrax (Kodi Smit-McPhee), the personification of the drug she has become addicted to, interviews her for a documentary about her life.  However, it is only when she is able to break free from the prison of her voice and sing for herself that she finally finds peace (this is incredibly fatalistic but I think there is an exultation in Maria's final scene).  The narrative sometimes feels crowded and disjointed but it looks absolutely gorgeous with warm and saturated colors evoking Paris during the 1970s along with dramatic black and white images used to represent moments from the past.  I loved the elaborate staging of operas both on stage in famous opera houses around the world and in various locations around Paris in Maria's hallucinations (my favorites were the mad scene from Anna Bolena at La Scala and a surrealistic interpretation of the "Humming Chorus" from Madame Butterfly on the steps of a historic building during a rainstorm).  I also loved the parallels between the operas used and the events depicted (and, as a fan of opera, I loved that extended excerpts are used rather than brief snippets).  The costumes and sets are incredibly lavish but it sometimes feels like there is more style than substance.  The highlight is Jolie's brilliant performance because she imbues Maria with an imperiousness (I laughed every time she made her butler movie the piano for no reason) and a vulnerability that is absolutely captivating.  I think this is a role that Jolie was born to play because her own star status and troubled off-screen persona add credibility to the performance (just give her the Oscar now) even if the script leaves us wanting to know more about the character.  This will not be for everyone but it is a must-see for fans of Jolie and I recommend it when it comes to Netflix on December 11.