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Angelina Jolie’s turn as the iconic soprano Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s Maria has received high praise from filmmaker Barry Jenkins, who likened her transformation to Denzel Washington’s role in Malcolm X. Moderating a discussion at AFI Fest, Jenkins noted how Jolie’s immersion into Callas’s character was “whole-bodied,” a method that, according to him, allowed her to embody the role with the same intensity Washington brought to Malcolm X. Jenkins also compared Jolie’s dedication to Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, each actor’s deep transformation mirroring the complex real-life figures they represented.
The film itself focuses on Callas’s last days, exploring her isolation and struggles with identity—a theme Jolie resonated with personally. She revealed that Callas’s intense dedication to craft and the “certain loneliness” associated with it echoed her own life experiences. Jolie described finding common ground in Callas’s perfectionism and high standards, traits that she acknowledged in her own artistic journey. Working with Larraín allowed Jolie to face these artistic challenges, providing her what she called a “safe place to fail” and embrace a newfound freedom as an artist.
Jolie’s preparation for Maria required seven months of vocal training and a rigorous study of Callas’s “straitjacketing” technique, where Callas would first master the technical aspects of a performance before adding personal emotion. According to Jolie, this discipline was transformative, pushing her to reach new depths as an artist—a method that aligned closely with Callas’s rigorous approach to her craft.
With Maria set to premiere in U.S. theaters on November 27 before streaming on Netflix in December, Jenkins predicts an Oscar nomination for Jolie, a sentiment echoed by critics following the film’s debut at Venice Film Festival. Jolie’s portrayal has thus become a standout moment in a career already marked by bold choices, as she channels Callas’s own passion and resilience into a compelling cinematic experience.
