As a long-time admirer and follower of Angelina Jolie‘s illustrious career, I must say that her dedication to portraying Maria Callas in “Maria” is nothing short of inspiring. Having witnessed her transformation from a versatile actress to a formidable director, it’s heartening to see her push herself further by mastering an entirely new skill – singing.
Angelina Jolie portrays the renowned opera singer Maria Callas in a biopic that focuses on the latter stages of her life, a period marked by her untimely death at age 53. To convincingly play this role, Jolie dedicated seven months to honing her singing abilities. At the Venice Film Festival press conference for the film, she stated:
On my initial performance as a singer, I recall feeling incredibly anxious. My sons were present, and they kindly ensured the door remained closed, keeping others out. I was trembling, fearful of not meeting expectations and because it had been so long since I’d sung in front of an audience.
Although the eight-minute standing ovation and Angelina Jolie’s response have fueled anticipation for the actress and the movie at the Oscars, the initial critiques from the film’s world premiere haven’t quite matched the enthusiasm shown in Venice.
‘These Actors Are Ordinarily Better Than This’
Despite Angelina Jolie’s eagerness to sing in “Maria,” it might not be the most pressing issue that the film and its creators encountered. Although the eight-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival was undeniably touching, the critical reception for the movie doesn’t seem to align with the response from the world premiere in Italy. At present, “Maria” has a score of 70% on the Tomatometer. Martin Tsai’s review for Collider states:
In many scenes, the characters, including fictional ones, seldom show much emotion while speaking. This is surprising because these actors are usually more expressive than this, leading one to question why they were instructed to deliver their lines so stiffly.
Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair writes:
The movie lacks specificity or clarity, as it could depict any grand diva; with certain aspects omitted, the portrayed character appears to be a generic representation of a woman living her last week.
If you’re not familiar with prestigious film festivals such as Venice or Cannes, it’s common to see long-lasting applause during movie showings. For instance, in 2018, director Lars von Trier and the cast of the psychological horror film “The House That Jack Built” were given a prolonged seven-minute standing ovation at Cannes. However, this film failed to secure any Oscar recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and received mixed reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (60%). Additionally, there was controversy as many viewers chose to leave during the screening due to the graphic violence.
Conversely, Todd Phillips’ film “Joker” was met with an eight-minute standing ovation at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and took home the prestigious Golden Lion for Best Picture. In terms of Rotten Tomatoes (RT) score, “Joker” is on par with the biopic “Maria”. Furthermore, “Joker” garnered 11 Oscar nominations and won two Academy Awards. Therefore, it can be said that Miss Jolie’s biopic has some advantages in this regard.
Time will reveal if Maria’s film will be considered one of Angelina Jolie’s top movies. The lengthy standing ovation she received, along with her response, has definitely fueled speculation about her potential Oscar nomination, even though there were contrasting opinions from some movie critics.
Maria
will drop on
Netflix
at an undisclosed date in the future.
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2024-08-30 20:03