This Is Not Angelina Jolie’s Big Comeback

As a longtime admirer of Angelina Jolie’s work, I must confess that her recent foray into the world of opera in “Maria” left me yearning for more of the raw, electric energy she once brought to the big screen. While it’s impressive to see her take on such a challenging role and invest months in mastering the art of opera singing, I couldn’t help but feel that the character of Maria Callas was a bit too detached, akin to Jolie playing a woman who’s playing Maria Callas.

For the past three years, Angelina Jolie has been largely absent from movies, but her distancing from stardom goes back further. She’s been gradually withdrawing aspects of her personal life and on-screen persona from public view. The days of the edgy, vial-wearing rebel or the captivating actress whose relationship with Brad Pitt in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” seemed destined are gone. As a celebrity, she’s moved away from any sexualized image, focusing instead on her roles as a filmmaker, humanitarian, and mother of six. In films, she often provides the voice for characters in the “Kung Fu Panda” series rather than appearing on screen. When she does take on live-action roles, these parts are characterized by their aloof beauty and understated suffering. I understand her wish to protect herself from a public that’s been privy to her personal life since she was barely of legal age. However, I must admit that the current phase of her career, with its Madonna-like martyr motif, hasn’t held my interest as much. At her finest, Jolie is electrifying, a performer who can make you believe she could consume the world with a single glance. Unfortunately, in recent roles, even when running through a raging forest fire, she seems only partially present.

In the film “Maria,” directed by Pablo Larraín, Angelina Jolie portrays Maria Callas, the renowned opera singer. This role marks one of her most challenging to date, yet it feels more like an extension of the enigmatic persona she has cultivated rather than a return to the limelight. The character is meticulously crafted, with Jolie undergoing months of opera training, seamlessly blending her own voice with Callas’ iconic one during performances. However, there’s an eerie detachment in Jolie’s on-screen portrayal, a distance that gives the impression she’s acting as a woman portraying Maria Callas. This coldness is likely deliberate, as “Maria” is the concluding part of Larraín’s trilogy featuring iconic women, following Natalie Portman as Jackie Onassis in “Jackie” and Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in “Spencer.” While “Maria” may not be as powerful as its predecessors, it continues the theme of focusing on image-making rather than the woman herself. The film’s Maria, residing in Paris late in life and having retired from the stage for years, continues to act – whether it’s singing an aria in the kitchen for her maid Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher) or playing the diva for a TV journalist (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who turns out to be a hallucination triggered by medication.

These three Larraín films delicately explore the theme of image as both a source of power and an imprisoning force, acknowledging the absurdity of dealing with such a complex issue. However, “Maria” struggles to strike a balance between demanding grandeur from its subject, who spent much of her life seeking approval from others, and portraying her as she truly was. The film transitions between Maria’s daily routines in 1977 and her past stage performances, yet it lacks depth and substance beneath these displays, leaving the character feeling hollow under the theatrical costumes and extravagant everyday attire. The script by Steven Knight seems to be written with every other line intended for future trailer emphasis rather than dialogue within scenes. When Feruccio (Pierfrancesco Favino), Maria’s butler and constant companion, questions her pill consumption, he asks, “What did you take?” To which she replies, “I took liberties, all my life, and the world took liberties with me.” When Feruccio finally manages to get Maria to see a doctor she’s been avoiding, that doctor tells her that they need to discuss life, death, sanity, and insanity.

Is Maria mentally ill? She seems intentionally disheveled, often causing disturbances in cafes and imagining interviews with Smit-McPhee, a name similar to her preferred tranquilizers. Yet, Maria maintains an impeccable air about her character, even as she struggles with her own identity, possibly aided by a pianist (Stephen Ashfield) who might not be real. The film portrays Maria beautifully, with Edward Lachman capturing the essence of 70s Paris in a nostalgic postcard-like manner, and Larraín staging surreal scenes involving choirs appearing mysteriously on Place du Trocadero and orchestras sitting in the rain. However, despite the film’s meticulous production, it lacks genuine vitality. For a movie centered around a daring performance, there’s no sense of any risks taken.

2024-08-29 21:54

This Is Not Angelina Jolie’s Big Comeback

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