Angelina Jolie gives Maria Callas a poised, intensely composed presence in Maria, Pablo Larraín’s impressionistic portrait of the opera star’s final days. The film’s stylized mix of memory, music and performance can make Callas’s inner life feel vivid, but it is not a comprehensive biography—and critics disagree on whether its theatricality reveals her emotional force or keeps the audience at a distance.
What is Maria about?
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria follows the American-Greek soprano after she has retreated from public life to Paris. The main action takes place over a week in September 1977, near the end of Callas’s life, while memories bring in her stage triumphs, her romance with Aristotle Onassis and the painful experiences of her youth. Netflix describes the story as a reckoning with identity and life; the film approaches that reckoning through impression rather than a cradle-to-grave account.
A television interviewer named Mandrax, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, speaks with Callas as the film moves between the present and recollection. His role leaves the boundary between what is happening and what Callas imagines uncertain. That ambiguity suits a story about memory and self-invention, though viewers looking for a clear, fact-led chronology may find it less satisfying.
Does Angelina Jolie capture Maria Callas?
Jolie’s performance is built around control: the posture, the measured speech and the deliberate way Callas occupies a room. That composure gives the character a strong center as her public image and private recollections press against one another. Whether that restraint conveys Callas’s inner life or makes her feel remote is the film’s central interpretive question.
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#1 Best Overall
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The Associated Press’s Lindsey Bahr found the approach emotionally apt, calling the film “a biopic as opera — an emotional journey fitting of the great diva, full of flair, beauty, betrayal, revelations and sorrow.” TIME’s Stephanie Zacharek reached a less enthusiastic conclusion: she praised the film’s beauty but argued that its mannered styling misses Callas’s vitality and charisma. The disagreement is useful rather than incidental. If you respond to an operatic character portrait, Jolie’s intensity may be compelling; if you want the spontaneity and energy associated with a magnetic performer, the film may feel too carefully composed.
Is Jolie actually singing in Maria?
Yes. Netflix’s production feature says Jolie had no formal singing training before taking the role, then spent months preparing, learned arias and Italian, and sang aloud on set. The finished sound blends her voice with recordings of Callas, with the balance changing by scene: Jolie’s voice is used more in scenes set in Callas’s later life, while Callas’s voice is more prominent in scenes representing the soprano at the height of her career. Neither singer supplies every vocal moment.
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That mix is part of the characterization, not just a way to recreate famous performances. Jolie’s singing helps make the late-life Callas feel physically present, while Callas’s own recordings connect the performance to the singer’s extraordinary musical legacy. TIME noted the voice blend while questioning whether the film’s overall style brings Callas’s vitality across.
Netflix says the soundtrack album includes restored Callas audio from excerpts of nine operas featured in the film, including “Casta Diva” from Norma, “Vissi D’arte” from Tosca and “Sempre Libera” from La Traviata. The soundtrack is a useful next listen for viewers drawn to the music, though it is distinct from the film’s blended vocal performance.
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Is Maria a historically complete biography?
No. The film concentrates on a short period at the end of Callas’s life and uses flashbacks and an uncertain interviewer to make a subjective portrait. Bahr described it as “more dream than history lesson.” Its memories give viewers glimpses of the singer’s past, but the film’s structure is not designed to establish a fully documented account of every stage of her career or personal life.
One line in the film captures its approach: “As of this morning, what is real and what is not real is my business.” That is Callas speaking within the film, not a verified quotation from the historical singer. It also serves as a cue for how to watch: take the shifting memories as part of the film’s interpretation, not as proof that every scene is a literal reconstruction.
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Is Maria worth watching?
Watch it for Jolie’s commanding performance, the opera-inflected sound and image design, and a portrait that treats fame and memory as a kind of stage. Its visual grandeur and deliberate ambiguity are likely to work best for viewers comfortable with a film that evokes a life rather than explains it. If your priority is a tightly organized, fact-dense biography—or a portrait that foregrounds Callas’s liveliness—the same choices may feel distancing.
The Associated Press reported a runtime of 122 minutes and an MPA R rating in the United States for a sexual reference and some language. AP also reported that the film began streaming on Netflix on December 11, 2024; streaming availability and ratings can differ by territory and may change, so check the local Netflix catalog and classification where you are.
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