It was just announced that Pablo Larrain‘s biopic “Maria,” about opera legend Maria Callas (played by Angelina Jolie), was acquired by Netflix for distribution, but it has now screened for journalists. It had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 29. How good is it, though? The early reviews are pouring in from the Italian fest.
Based on the first 15 reviews counted by MetaCritic so far, the film has a “generally favorable” rating of 63. Eight of those reviews are classified as positive, while seven are somewhat mixed, though none are outright negative. But on Rotten Tomatoes, which considers reviews only as positive or negative, the film is 87% fresh based on 15 reviews, which means only two of them give the film a thumbs down. That disparity between scores suggests that most reviewers like the film, but some of those thumbs-up ratings might be a little ambivalent.
Among the most favorable reviews, Steve Pond (The Wrap) writes that this film is “the most restrained” of Larrain’s biographical films about iconic women, following “Jackie” about Jackie Kennedy and “Spencer” about Princess Diana. It’s “dreamlike and almost studiously placid,” as well as “exquisitely beautiful.” Xan Brooks (The Guardian) says it’s “magnificent” and “declamatory,” and though it took a while to win the critic over, “I was hoping for an encore.” Robbie Collin (The Telegraph) says that star Jolie “dazzles” in “her finest performance in at least 15 years,” while Kaleem Aftab (Time Out) says the actress has “finally landed a role that will have audiences talking about her acting again.”
Owen Gleiberman (Variety) agrees that Jolie’s performance is “quite fine” and “seizes our attention,” but despite Larrain’s “lavish empathy and filmmaking skill … it feels like there’s less at stake” than in “Jackie” or “Spencer.” Similarly, Stephanie Zacharek (Time) feels “there’s much to admire” in the film, which “is gorgeous to look at,” but “‘Maria’ captures nothing of the spirit of Callas.” Nicholas Barber (BBC) also thinks the film lacks “urgency.” And Rafaela Sales Ross (The Playlist), thinks “the famed actress [is] far too recognizable as Angelina Jolie to fully melt into Maria Callas.”
This divided reception is actually reminiscent of “Jackie” and “Spencer,” both of which had their share of fans and detractors — though both films scored higher on MetaCritic than “Maria” currently stands. But the films nevertheless earned their leading ladies enough admiration to result in Best Actress noms for Natalie Portman (“Jackie”) and Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”). And from the sounds of it, “Maria” might also look forward to noms in craft fields, particularly for Edward Lachman‘s cinematography; Lachman was just nominated for lensing Larrain’s last film, “El Conde.”
Or perhaps a better comparison for “Maria” is “La Vie en Rose,” another biopic about a legendary singer (Edith Piaf) that critics weren’t wild about, but won Best Actress for Marion Cotillard. That would be music to Jolie’s ears.
