WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Maria.
The ending of Netflix's 2024 biopic Jolie, best known for her roles in films such as Maleficent, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and Girl, Interrupted, returns in her first feature film since Marvel's 2021 action blockbuster Eternals. Jolie has also directed several films, such as First They Killed My Fathers (2017) and Unbroken (2014). Jolie took a break from acting from 2021's Eternals until 2024's Maria to focus on spending more time with her six kids, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne.
Maria depicts the premiering at the 81st Venice Film Festival in August 2024.
Maria is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
How Maria Callas Died
She was diagnosed with a degenerative muscle disease
The beginning and end of Maria depict the same scene of Maria Callas's death. Just a week prior, a doctor informed Maria that her heart and liver were failing due to the complicated mix of sedatives and steroids she was presumably taking for quite some time. On September 16, 1977, at the scene of Maria's death in her Paris apartment, the doctor stated that he believed Maria likely died of heart failure.
In reality, Maria did die of a heart attack under similar circumstances after she became a recluse. She was 53 years old. The initial consensus was that she died from stress and drug abuse. The real-life Maria had been diagnosed with dermatomyositis in 1975, a degenerative medical condition that likely caused her to lose her singing voice.
Maria's Swan Song "Vissi d'arte" Explained
The song's title means "I lived for art"
In Maria's climactic final bow, she sings "Vissi d'arte", the classic soprano aria from Act 2 of an opera called Tosca by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. Tosca first premiered in Rome in 1900. The song's title means "I lived for art." The song's lyrics center on the theme of an artist being abandoned by God.
"Vissi d'arte" opens with the lyrics, "I lived for art, I lived for love, / I never harmed a living soul! / With a discreet hand / I relieved all misfortunes I encountered." It ends with, "In this hour of grief, / why, why, Lord, / ah, why do you reward me thus?" The song relates to Maria's experience as she finally faces and grapples with her declining health. She questions why God dealt her this tragic hand after gifting her an incredible talent.
Why Maria Couldn't Stop Singing Despite Her Declining Health
Maria had wrapped her entire identity into her singing voice
Maria had been told by doctors to give up singing as it could very well kill her. Despite the concerns of her butler Ferruccio and the obligatory of her maid Bruna, Maria chose to keep singing even though she was aware – and in denial of – the risks. Maria had wrapped her entire identity into her singing voice and could not accept that her life could go on without her gift intact. She cannot see, or choose not to see, that the doctor and her staff are only trying to help her on a human level. Maria has never truly felt like a normal person since she is always put on a pedestal. Without her voice, she has nothing. She also claims that she has never truly sung for herself before, which further explains her determination.
Aristotle Onassis's Deathbed Scene Explained
He loved Maria but was married to Jackie Kennedy
Aristotle Onassis died in a Paris hospital in 1975. In Maria, the titular protagonist goes to visit him on his deathbed, moments before Aristotle's wife – Jackie Kennedy – arrives to see him. Aristotle tells Maria that after he dies, his spirit will reside on a beach in Greece where he plans to watch boats go by and will wait for Maria. Although both Maria and Aristotle divorced their partners and continued their relationship for many years, they never formally married.
In the film, Aristotle ironically claims that he hated opera. President John F. Kennedy alludes to Maria not having a father in the film, suggesting that it has something to do with her attraction to Aristotle. After JFK was assassinated, Aristotle married Jackie Kennedy in 1968.
Why Maria Keeps Instructing Ferruccio To Move Her Piano
Maria's butler is subject to her wafty perspectives and ludicrous demands
Maria instructs her loyal butler Ferruccio to keep moving her piano into different rooms throughout the film. It appears that this is a cunning punishment for Ferruccio monitoring her medications and drug abuse and forcing her to see a doctor. It also reaffirms their power dynamic and is only slightly cruel even though deep inside, Maria is very grateful she has the strict presence of Ferruccio who at least attempts to keep her in check. Maria proves to be utterly defiant throughout the film and is almost impossible to convince. Ferruccio is looking out for her best interests but is subject to Maria's wafty perspectives and ludicrous demands, such as moving the piano back and forth.
Why Maria's Sister Yakinthi Tells Her To "Close The Door"
Maria's sister, Yakinthi Callas, is only depicted twice in the film. She initially appears in a flashback as she entertains SS Officers with a young Maria, whose voice brings tears to their eyes. Yakinthi appears again in the present-day timeline upon Maria's request. She listens to her sister reveal her fragile state of mind and that she's been having hallucinations but won't see a doctor. Yakinthi, who is much more grounded than her sister, encourages Maria to "close the door" on the magnificent life she once led as an opera singer. She can tell, like everyone else around Maria, that the former international superstar cannot disconnect from the bright lights of her nostalgia. Maria can't "close the door" on that period of her life, which has left her in a delusional melancholic state.
Is Mandrax A Real TV Interviewer?
Mandrax is also the name of her sedatives
One of the most intriguing narrative devices in Maria is the presence of Mandrax, who appears sporadically throughout the film to interview Maria. The journalist's name is an obvious connection to the Mandrax pills – later called Quaaludes – that Maria is addicted to. When the character Mandrax is first introduced in the film, he is never shown interacting with Ferruccio or Bruna. In fact, the two of them share several concerning looks as Maria "talks" to Mandrax, the same look that the cafe owner gives Maria as she apparently sits alone talking to herself. The film makes it quite clear that Mandrax is an imaginary figure who Maria can comfortably share her personal stories and truths with.
The Real Meaning Of Maria's Ending
Maria's final song could have been a hallucination
The ending of Maria showcases the plight of one of the greatest singing talents to have ever lived. The film gives a modern platform for the artist so that her talents are not forgotten, although the psychological elements that affected Maria Callas in her final days are demonstrated but still not understood. Maria's "swan song" scene includes dozens of Parisians outside her apartment stopping to hear her voice one last time. It's unclear whether Maria actually sang her heart out in a literal sense before her death or whether it was one of her hallucinations. What is clear by the end of Maria is how formidable she was as a singer and a human being who lived and died within the miraculous beauty of her voice.
Maria
- Release Date
- November 27, 2024
- Runtime
- 123 Minutes
- Director
- Pablo Larrain
Cast
Maria Callas
Piersco FavinoFerruccio Mezzadri
WHERE TO WATCH
Maria (2024) is a biographical drama about opera singer Maria Callas, directed by Pablo Larraín, starring Angelina Jolie. It concludes Larraín's trilogy on iconic women.
- Writers
- Steven Knight
- Main Genre
- Biography
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