Angelina Jolie’s Triumphant Return in ‘Maria’
In the film “Maria,” the iconic opera singer Maria Callas reflects on a special moment from the 1949 Venice Film Festival. After the premiere of Pablo Larraín’s new film at the same festival on August 29, 2024, Angelina Jolie, who stars as Callas, will likely have her own cherished memory.
The film, recently picked up by Netflix for U.S. distribution, hints at an Oscar campaign. It centers on Callas’s final days as she reminisces about her life and endeavors to regain her extraordinary voice. The audience in Sala Grande gave a prolonged standing ovation, with applause continuing well after the credits ended. The overwhelming admiration brought Jolie and the filmmakers to tears, including screenwriter Steven Knight, who emotionally made his way through the crowd to embrace Jolie. Co-stars Pierfrancesco Favino and Alba Rohrwacher stood by Jolie’s side during the ovation, while director Larraín eventually led Jolie down the theater stairs to personally thank the audience in the orchestra seats.
With numerous films still to debut at the festival, including those featuring potential Best Actress contenders like Nicole Kidman in “Babygirl” and Lady Gaga in “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Jolie has emerged as a frontrunner for the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. This award often forecasts an Academy Award nomination. If Jolie wins, she would be the first of Larraín’s leading actresses in his historical portrait trilogy to do so. His previous films, “Jackie” and “Spencer,” had mixed results at the festival, with “Jackie” winning the Golden Osella for Best Original Screenplay in 2016, and “Spencer” leaving empty-handed in 2021.
During a press conference earlier that day, Jolie spoke about “Maria” marking her major return to the screen after several years. She shared, “I’ve needed to be home more with my family in these last years, and in that time, I’ve become more grateful to just be an artist, and play.” She expressed her gratitude for being part of the creative world alongside her cast and crew, saying, “I am grateful to be an artist in any way.”
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