Film: Maria
Friday, December 20, 2024 at 01:50pm
Waterville Opera House
Maine Film Center
93 Main Street,
Angelina Jolie knocks it out of the park—or maybe we should say, “gets hours-long standing ovations”—in a fabulous role as Maria Callas, the world’s greatest female opera singer. The film follows her tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story, relived and reimagined during her final days in 1970s Paris by the great director Pablo Larraín (No, Jackie). After her lover Aristotle Onassis passes away, Maria is left with only her butler, housekeeper, and two poodles for company. Reflecting on past abuse from her mother and cruel men, and ingesting more pills than food, Maria attempts to relive her glory days by returning to singing after not performing for four years. “This is a portrait of all that an artist must sacrifice for their work and the ways that is amplified further as a female artist. It's a fable of fame and control, but it's also an ode to a woman who could only find peace by singing her heart out.”—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly.