Born in the United States to Greek parents, Maria Callas is considered one of the great opera singers of all time.  She rose to fame in the 1950s with unforgettable performances in Verdi’s La traviata, Bellini’s Norma, and Puccini’s Tosca.  Callas died in 1977 at the relatively young age of 53 but her voice will forever be heard thanks to recordings, both audio and video, which can be savoured online.

With films including Post Mortem and No (a favourite of mine), Chilean director Pablo Larraín built a strong resume in highlighting key events within his home country.  That’s shifted over the past decade and his attention has turned towards powerful, often misunderstood women from the Western world.  He has delved into the lives of Jacqueline Kennedy in Jackie, Princess Diana in Spencer, and now Maria Callas in Maria.  Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart earned Oscar nominations for their performances but Angelina Jolie, a former winner herself for Girl, Interrupted, missed out.

English screenwriter Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things, Peaky Blinders) has taken my preferred approach when it comes to biopics – focusing on a small chapter of someone’s life.  It provides ample time to dig deep (as opposed to the rush of squashing 50 years into 2 hours).  Interestingly though, he’s selected the final week of Callas’s life in September 1977 as she contemplates a comeback while battling serious health issues.  We do get a glimpse of her upbringing and achievements, but this is via fast-paced flashbacks.

The crux of Larraín’s movie is therefore centred around Callas’s interactions with two long-standing servants.  Her loyal butler, Ferruccio (Favino), is struggling himself with a dodgy back but he’s built a strong enough relationship with his employer that he’s not afraid to openly question some of her decisions.  Her caring housemaid, Bruna (Rohrwacher), is a little more subdued but she’s equally concerned about Callas’s physical and mental decline.  I enjoyed the subtle power games between the trio as they try to take the upper hand.

As surprising as it may sound, I enjoyed Maria more for its comedic playfulness than its historical drama.  Callas is portrayed as a good-natured person, but she also had a cheeky side who loved playing the “diva”.  From hiding pills throughout her bedroom, through to booking appointments at restaurants and hair salons, Callas made the most of her notoriety.  Jolie, in her first film role in three years, seems to have as much fun as the audience with her attention-seeking performance.

The laughs aren’t enough to compensate for the film’s shortcomings, and I still don’t think I have a clear picture of who Callas was.  A fair chunk of time is spent covering the weird relationship she had with Aristotle Onassis (Bilginer) but it’s unfulfilling.  Did we need the JFK cameo?  I was also unsure about the plot device in which Callas speaks with a young journalist (Smit-McPhee) and in doing so, creates a form of narration to help drive the story.

I enjoyed both Jackie and Spencer (worthy of an A-) but Maria is clearly the weakest in Pablo Larraín’s unorthodox trilogy.