Angelina Jolie’s performance in Maria eases her return to the award nomination lineup, demonstrating the actress never lost her hypnotizing craft despite her participation in less demanding movies. Coming back to bring opera singer, Maria Callas, to the screen, Jolie delivers a portrayal as exquisite as the artist’s immortal voice recordings, making her a leading contender for the best actress category of the Oscars 2025. Having recently played charismatic characters in Eternals, Maleficent, and the Kung Fu Panda franchise, some viewers might have forgotten Jolie’s outstanding past performances, but Maria is far from being her first Oscar-worthy execution.

The actress is no stranger to great biopic movies, as her characterization of Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart garnered her a Critics Choice Award nomination. Additionally, she knows the role of a tortured celebrity all too well, having won a Golden Globe for her embodiment of real-life supermodel, Gia Carangi. Though Jolie’s best movies are recognized for their memorable and affecting characters, the actress’ one Oscar belongs to her 25-year-old supporting role in Girl, Interrupted. Maria’s early reviews applaud the actress’ return to a sensitive and masterful evocation of character, heavily suggesting her coming awards success.

Angelina Jolie’s Maria Is Now Streaming On Netflix – What The Movie Is About

Maria Revisits La Callas’ Rise To Fame And Her Fall From Grace

Completing Pablo Larraín’s trilogy of biopics on female icons, Maria sets itself apart from the acclaimed Jackie and Spencer. Leading the Maria cast is powerhouse Angelina Jolie, whose talent can be equaled to Jackie actress, Natalie Portman. The movie, out on Netflix today, adopts a bold narrative style, feeling like a story within a story originating from the delirious mind of its protagonist. Maria Callas, both narrator and subject, rejects her apparent lonely and failed reality by trying to intervene in it, however, falling victim to a futile mission to resuscitate her long-gone fame and voice.

Franco Zeffirelli directed Callas Forever in 2002, the first movie adaptation of Maria Callas’ life and late career struggles.

As presented in the Maria trailer, the movie takes place a week before the artist’s death, and follows its character through real and imaginary memories, allowing her happiness only in her delusions of grandeur. Maria is presented as a dying artist who cannot let go of her once-adored talent, which is also the root of her self-destroying misery. Now, a shadow of the singer she was, she both craves and resents her angelic arias, hymns able to conjure an intoxicating admiration that consumed its subject day and night, and long after their last breath.

Why Angelina Jolie’s Performance Of Maria Callas Is Getting Awards Buzz

Angelina Jolie Commits To Maria Callas’ Fatal Flaws And Haunting Grace

Following a sustained ovation during its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Maria has been described as “daring and unconventional” in both narrative and character (via The Hollywood Reporter). Though its cinematography and makeup feature the talent of artists responsible for titles like El Conde and All Quiet on the Western Front, Maria’s biggest triumph is its leading actress’ performance. Angelina Jolie accepts her character’s flaws as if they were her own, and offers a moving and palpable rendition of La Callas as she continues to live in the memories of those who loved and knew her.

Variety offers similar reviews, claiming “This is the kind of role Jolie has been waiting for over 25 years, one that fully utilizes her undeniable commitment.” The seasoned actress defiantly celebrates a morally complex woman and artist whose ambition turns into fatal obsession — but who maintains a raw humanity that reaches through her cracked porcelain canvas. Maria Callas’ overbearing tormented mind juxtaposes with her graceful physical language and her dignified, struggling voice. With Maria, Angelina Jolie comes back with a haunting performance reminiscent of her 2000s characters, garnering a deserved and anticipated wave of critical acclaim.