MARIA
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, and Haluk Bilginer
Director: Pablo Larraín
AMARÚ
Have you ever been around someone who only needs to utter a sound and everything is pulled towards them? Well, that’s how mesmerizing Maria is, and triply so, through a bombastically operatic score, eye-popping color & kinetic camera work, and Angelina Jolie’s every statement, stance, and smile as Maria Callas. Director Pablo Larraín takes a deliberate approach with the film, spending a half-a-second longer on every decision, and while that may feel a tad bit burdensome, it also keeps hold of your full attention, especially on Jolie’s gravitational pull.
ADRIANO
As someone who loves director Pablo Larrain's previous biopics, Jackie and Spencer, I found Maria pretty underwhelming. It's not bad by any means, featuring breathtaking cinematography, effective use of Maria Callas' (Angelina Jolie) music, and an outstanding performance from Jolie. However, this film is much less challenging than the other two because it spoon-feeds its main thesis early on (they don't love her, they love her voice) before spinning its wheels for the rest of the runtime until reaching an inevitable conclusion. Add in the stagey dialogue, and Maria is one of my biggest disappointments this year.
