“Honestly, for me, the barrier to knowing if I did well enough is Maria Callas fans. And those who love opera. I was afraid I would disappoint them,” Angelina Jolie said in Venice about the obvious campaign for her name for the Oscar for Best Actress for Maria. “So, of course, if there is a response to the work, I am very grateful, but in my heart, I did not want to disappoint the people who love her [Maria Callas], who also means a lot to me, as does her legacy,” she said smiling.

Since she was announced as Pablo Larraín’s muse for yet another biography of an important woman of the 20th century, we already knew that there would be a campaign in favor of the actress so that she would be nominated for the Oscar for the third time (she already has one for Best Supporting Actress). Considering how precise Larraín is when directing intimate films, managing to convince us that Kristen Stewart could be a great Diana Spencer already assured us that we could trust Angelina as Maria Callas. “The way I related to her, perhaps surprisingly, was probably the part of her that is extremely soft and has no room in the world to be as soft as she really was — as emotionally open as she really was… I share her vulnerability more than anything,” she said at the film’s premiere.

Casting non-obvious actresses for the role has been a signature of the Chilean director and Angelina herself joked that her musical taste has always been punk rock and not so much classical music or opera. “I was more punk. I loved all kinds of music, but I probably listened to The Clash more than most, and as I got older, I included classical music and opera. I think there’s still something that I love in the same music that I loved when I was younger,” she joked.

Netflix has announced that it will have the rights to the film in the United States at least, which means it will campaign for the actress at future awards shows. And yes, the independent, arthouse film will indeed be seen. In Brazil, we still don’t know who has the rights…

The critics are full of praise. “Angelina Jolie dazzles as the opera diva in her best performance in a decade,” declares The Telegraph. “This biopic, which focuses on the last week of the soprano’s life, doubles down on Jolie’s innate glamour and elevates it to regal extremes.”

“Angelina Jolie gives a career-defining performance as a haunted opera diva,” says The Independent.

“Girl, Resurrected,” Time Out uses as a pun on the film that won Angelina an Oscar 25 years ago, Girl, Interrupted. According to the magazine, “[Maria] is likely to put Jolie front and center in the Oscar race too,” giving it no less than four stars.

The Hollywood Reporter, on the other hand, is full of technical praise (cinematography, costumes, soundtrack), and speaks highly of the film but avoids defining what it really thought of Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas.

“The film is like a shining jewel in a glass case, inviting you to look but not to touch,” says the reviewer. “That’s not to say it’s not engaging or that Jolie’s technically precise performance isn’t impressive. But there’s a meta collision between a star whose celebrity has long eclipsed her acting achievements, making it nearly impossible for her to disappear into a character, and a subject who has built an imperious persona for herself, acting even when she’s not on stage,” it comments.

Variety is also lukewarm: “Angelina Jolie is in command as Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s lavish but overly fatalistic drama,” is the headline. In the text, it says “Jolie does an extraordinary job dubbing for the nuances of Callas’ vocal splendor. The performance is, in many ways, very good. From the moment she appears on screen, she captures our attention, playing Maria as a wily woman who is imperious, mysterious, fusing the life force of a genius diva with the depressive emotional fire of a femme fatale,” the critic describes. “Jolie, for the first time in years, remembers that she can be a deadly serious actress of commanding subtlety and power. However, I wish Larraín and his screenwriter, Steven Knight (Jackie), had found a greater vulnerability in Maria who is at the end of her patience.

I haven’t seen the film yet, but I admit that I will always be on Team Angelina. Her personal life has taken on gigantic proportions in recent years and she dared to clash with the darling of the market, Brad Pitt, a terrible actor who only has charisma on his side and who shamelessly or inconsiderately set out to destroy the credibility of his ex. He, who surprisingly for me has an Oscar for Supporting Actor (the other one, for producer, has my respect but I remember it was a film made when he was still married to Angelina), is what could block her chance of making this great comeback.

I think that American critics are not separating Angelina from Maria, since Maria Callas has never been a unanimous figure. I wanted the nomination, even with remote chances of winning. If I can, I will insist in any way I can to influence the algorithm. Maria Callas deserves it, just like Angelina Jolie. I hope that sexism takes a break in Hollywood…

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