40/11
Maria Callas’s longtime companion Aristotle Onassis later married former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy
Scenario
Maria Callas, the world’s greatest opera singer, lives the last days of her life in 1970s Paris, where she comes to terms with her identity and life. Kennedy was the heroine of Pablo Larraín’s previous biopic, Jackie (2016), starring Natalie Portman. Maria Callas: Book me a table at a bar where the waiters know who I am.
I feel like worshipping
Featured: Why Do We Need the Venice Film Festival? (2024). I just saw the film at a film festival.
Our entire group was disappointed with what we saw
The plot was thin for us, focusing on the last part of her life, leaving out important parts of the story about how the events connect to each other. We were jumping from one scene to the next without a clear connection between the sequences. The focus seemed to be on Jolie posing for us, quite removed from the glamour of the real Maria.
There was a void in this version of Maria Callas
I get it: Angelina is beautiful, but where was the spark? I never felt like I identified with the characters and didn’t feel like the film was for me. Towards the end of the film, when the credits start to roll, there are scenes with the real Maria Callas – full of personality and charisma – that unfortunately were not represented in Jolie’s performance.