Pablo Larrain’s Maria was just days away from its world premiere in Venice when Netflix purchased the movie and quickly began to promote the hell out of it. During the film festival season, I kept waiting for a teaser trailer to be released, but they only gave us a small clip, a scene where Maria Callas is talking to her butler about doctors and medication. The film shows Maria Callas at different stages of her adult journey – her early fame, her love affair with Aristotle Onassis, her declining later years. Well, Netflix has just released the teaser trailer and I’m completely sold.
Just the shot of Angelina Jolie-as-Maria walking out into the street in Paris in the 1970s was enough for me. In case you’re wondering why this looks so pretty/beautiful, it’s because Pablo Larrain is an amazing director, but he’s also working with cinematographer Edward Lachman. They know how to f–king light a scene properly. This will “complete” Larrain’s triptych of famous-woman bio-pics – he started with Jackie Kennedy, then went to Princess Diana and now he’s ending it with Maria Callas. I hope that Angelina, like Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart, gets an Oscar nomination under Larrain’s direction.
I also hope that Netflix supports the hell out of this movie. They just announced the timeline too – Maria will have a limited theatrical release starting November 27, then it will be available for streaming on Netflix on December 11. The right time for an Oscar campaign, although they easily could have moved it up a few weeks. I wonder if Angelina will do some major magazine profiles, or maybe even a 60 Minutes interview.
Photos courtesy of Pablo Larrain/Netflix, Backgrid, Avalon Red, Cover Images.