What critics have to say about Angelina Jolie’s opera diva transformation and singing
The actress stars as opera singer Maria Callas in director Pablo Larraín’s new movie that premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
Early reactions to Angelina Jolie’s latest movie are signaling the superstar’s triumphant return to the big screen.
Maria, director Pablo Larraín’s new biopic about opera singer Maria Callas, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on Thursday, Aug. 29.
Deadline film critic Stephanie Bunbury described Jolie, 49, as «an almost magical match for the real diva,» in a review of the film.
«The actor’s commitment to this creation is obvious at every turn,» she wrote. «Knowing that Callas was only happy when on stage, she learned to sing for the role; the voice we hear is a blend of Callas and Jolie’s own.
Even more importantly, we can see her chest rise and veins swell as she is consumed, body and soul, by the physical and emotional effort of singing.»
The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey praised Jolie’s performance in a review: «It’s a career-defining bit of synchronicity, bolstered by one of Jolie’s very best performances. Her work has always been about that immaculate sense of control over posture and tone.»
