Maria—a film about legendary opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie—has landed a premiere date on Netflix.
Jolie attended the world premiere of the film at the Venice International Film Festival on August 29 in Venice, Italy. The logline for Maria notes the film “follows the American-Greek soprano as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye. Maria reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days as the diva reckons with her identity and life.”
Maria is directed by Jackie and Spencer filmmaker Pablo Larraín.
According to Variety, Netflix will first release the film in theaters on November 27 in order to qualify for an awards season run before making its streaming debut on Netflix on December 11.
The trade publication reported that Maria received an 8-minute standing ovation following its Venice premiere, which left Jolie in tears.
How Did Critics React To ‘Maria’ After Venice Premiere?
Maria got a warm reception by Rotten Tomatoes critics following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in August.
To date, Maria has a 75% “fresh” rating based on 44 reviews. An Audience Score won’t be available until Maria screens in previews.
The RT Critics’ Consensus for the movie reads, “Angelina Jolie unveils new highs within her emotional register in Pablo Larraín’s Maria, keeping this tragic biopic compelling even when its theatrics go off-key.”
Among the top RT critics giving Maria a “fresh” review is Time Out’s Kaleem Aftab, who writes, “This enjoyable biopic offers a loving and affectionate portrait of Callas that never airbrushes her foibles. It’s likely to put Jolie front and center in the Oscar race, too.”
In addition, David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter notes, “The naked emotionality and piercing tragedy of the immortal operatic heroines is a poignant fit for Callas’ end-of-life story and a useful counterpoint to her studied poise and aloofness in this interpretation.”
Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson isn’t so high on Maria, writing in his “rotten” review, “There is something arbitrary, unspecific about the film. With a few details removed, Maria could be about any grand diva, this blurry picture of a woman swanning through the final week of her life.”
The Wall Street Journal’s Kyle Smith appears a bit more mixed in his “rotten” review of Maria, writing, “Ms. Jolie is fantastically regal as La Callas contemplates a comeback in her palatial Paris apartment in the 1970s, but her vamping, and a surfeit of languid lounging, makes it seem like a humorless retread of Sunset Boulevard.”
Maria opens in theaters on November 27 before pivoting to streaming on Netflix on December 11.
This post was originally published on here
