Angelina Jolie is legendary opera singer Maria Callas in new images from the upcoming biopic Maria. The film is set to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, which begins today. Netflix has acquired the film for US distribution.
Maria will depict Callas, the 20th century’s most famous soprano, in the twilight of her career and her life. It will be set in the 1970s, when Callas’ health was in decline, causing her once-magnificent voice to lose its power. As she spends her last days in isolation in Paris (she died there in 1977, at age 53), she attempts to find her voice once more. The new images from the film depict Callas at both the height of her powers, when she performed for packed audiences and was lauded for her otherworldly voice, and from her nadir, as she retreated into herself as her creative powers waned. The film was directed by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín, who is coming off his acclaimed satirical horror film El Conde last year. Says Larraín, “This film is my most personal work yet. It is a creative imagining and psychological portrait of Maria Callas who, after dedicating her life to performing for audiences around the world, decides finally to find her own voice, her own identity, and sing for herself.”
What Other Creatives Are Working on ‘Maria’?
In addition to Jolie, Maria boasts an experienced international cast. It will also star Valeria Golino (Rain Man) as Callas’ sister Yakinthi Callas, and Haluk Bilginer (The Turkish Detective) as Aristotle Onassis, the Greek shipping magnate who was Callas’ longtime lover. Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog), Alba Rohrwacher (Hungry Hearts), and Pierfrancesco Favino (Rush) will also star. The film’s cinematographer is Edward Lachman, who has been Oscar-nominated for his work on Far From Heaven, Carol, and Larraín’s own El Conde. The script is by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, who previously wrote the script for Larrain’s Spencer.
Maria is the third in a loose trilogy of films about notable 20th-century women at critical points in their lives. It follows Jackie, which starred Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy in the wake of John F. Kennedy‘s assassination; and Spencer, in which Kristen Stewart played Princess Diana as she endures a difficult Christmas with the royal family in 1991.
Maria will premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, which begins today; no Netflix release date has yet been announced. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
