In 1977, Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie) spends her last days in a Paris apartment, protected by her butler and housekeeper (Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher), pondering the past and trying to sing again.

The third film where Pablo Larraín examines the tortured lives of iconic women, but this one feels a bit more meandering than Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021). They all share a mournful tone, but here it threatens to put a wet blanket on everything.

Ingredients that compensate include the elegant cinematography and Jolie’s strong performance as the pill-addicted opera legend.

2024-U.S.-Italy-Germany. 124 min. Color-B/W. Directed by Pablo Larraín. Screenplay: Steven Knight. Cinematography: Edward Lachman. Costume Design: Massimo Cantini Parrini. Cast: Angelina Jolie (Maria Callas), Pierfrancesco Favino (Ferruccio), Alba Rohrwacher (Bruna), Haluk Bilginer, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Stephen Ashfield, Valeria Golino. 

Trivia: Co-produced by Maren Ade and Larraín. Caspar Phillipsen appears as John F. Kennedy, whom he also played in Jackie.