Maria

When one achieves greatness at his or her craft, its difficult to walk away when the skills behind it begin to fade. Moreover, facing the hard truth that ones peak may indeed be irretrievably in the past can be even tougher to accept, no matter how passionate ones desire might be for it. Such was the anguish that befell Maria Callas (1923-1977) (Angelina Jolie), one of the greatest operatic talents of all time, as she approached the end of her successful but stormy life. Having not performed in nearly four years, with her mental and physical health and singing ability failing, she contemplated a comeback but was torn between taking on the rigors of such an arduous task and living the life of personal contentment she always wanted for hersel...

It's no wonder that event cinema thrives when you consider just how impressive it is to hear a full orchestra, some Pucchini or Verdi and the magnificently powerful voice of this eponymous soprano through big screen sound. Of course I could have been doing with a great deal more of her singing, but Pablo Larraín wasn't offering us a "Now That's What I Call Maria" compendium. Instead he has teamed up with Angelina Jolie to share this temperamental woman's last week of life in Paris in 1977. She lives in a lavish apartment staffed by her two faithful and loving retainers Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher) and Ferruccio (Pierfrancesco Favino). These two have been with her for many years and are now well used to managing her mood swings, her addiction to ...

'Maria' makes for fascinating viewing. I knew nothing, to be honest, directly of Maria Callas before watching, though obviously had heard of the grand pieces of music. Very sad, if naturally very interesting, to learn more about her and her final days. Beautifully told.

Really intriguing to see that Steven Knight wrote this, not something I'd expect to see him write based on the other work of his that I've seen - more fool me, evidently a man of many talents. Knight and those offscreen are reasons why this is terrific as it is, though the cast are too.

I feel like I've not seen enough of Angelina Jolie. I have seen a fair few films featuring her and have known her name for as long as I can remember, but do sense I've not watched as mu...