TWO new films, currently on circuit at Ster Kinekor theatres, deserve all the accolades for performance and production whatever the outcome of the award show still revered as the one everyone wishes for. DIANE DE BEER reviews:
Picures: Pablo Larrain
MARIA
Director: Pablo Larrain
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Haluk Bilginer (Onassis), Alba Rohrwacher (the housekeeper), Pierfrancesco Favino (valet)
If you’re an opera fan, this one should be hard to resist.
Arguably, the success of the film rests on Angelina Jolie’s shoulders. And she delivers magnificently.
I’m old enough to remember when Maria Callas and her public love/hate relationship with Ari Onassis dominated the gossip columns. When he married Jackie Kennedy, the snub to his former lover could be felt worldwide – even without the presence of social media.
Many women have been scorned but not as publicly as she. And this is where Jolie pays homage to the remarkable superstar whose health and voice are starting to fail. She hasn’t been on stage for more than four years, but in her head, that’s where lives.
It’s where she comes alive and that is where the film gloriously captures the great Callas presence and voice.
Even though the two women aren’t lookalikes, the subtlety of Jolie’s transformation, the way she holds herself and moves and when she “sings” all vividly embody the spirit of the damaged diva – both physical and mental.
The casting is inspirational and the way the director has imaginatively captured the elegance and dignity of Callas combines to tell a story with great heart and empathy. Told as if from another era, which indeed it was, it is the tragedy and tribulations of Maria’s life that are delicately rendered so that it feels as though a real woman emerges.
And the film cleverly tells the story from Maria’s point of view. She wasn’t someone who relished sharing her secrets, but with Onassis and the women he courted, she didn’t have to. The world was fascinated.
The title doesn’t need more than just a name – Maria. Perhaps youngsters know less of her, but the older generation will know enough to care about this woman who seemed to have it all – but not the love of her life. And that was everything to her.
It’s obvious that she was the right choice for the Greek shipping magnate, but perhaps she too easily outshone him with her talent and artistic temperament. Jackie, a persona in her own right, but more as a symbol of a nation than an artist, to his mind, would allow him to shine brighter.
It was the mismatch of the century with the shy American first lady not a match for the rough-edged Ari, and he, no competition for the memory of the suave Jack Kennedy.
The one who suffered was Maria, who reflects on her life while trying to relive the glory of her younger voice.
It is indeed a Greek tragedy, but, fortunately, because of all the ingredients so smartly complementing each other, it is beautifully told, with Jolie’s performance and the Callas voice stealing the show.
Oscar nominations: Cinematography; and I would have included the director and Angeline Jolie in the nominations
Pictures: courtesy A24
THE BRUTALIST
Director: Brady Corbet
Cast: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Raffey Cassidy, Alessandro Nivola
It’s probably the length of the film that has kept some from seeing this exquisite film – both in storytelling and the way it unfolds.
It is and feels epic from beginning to end. The Brutalist is a story about an architect who flees to America from a devastating postwar Europe. He hopes to invigorate his life, his career and finally reunite with his wife and niece whom he leaves behind until he has established himself.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. In today’s climate, it is the struggling life of the immigrant that grabs hold most viciously as a visionary artist is forced to grovel his way to simply survive.
Power and its frightening effects are not something that’s just of our times. Even though he is soon spotted by a wealthy industrialist, Harrison lee Van Buuren (a name that carries weight in society), he is completely at the mercy of the powerful and their needs.
Nothing is secure, even when you’re designing for the best. They can tear you apart in seconds, make you bend the knee while praising your abilities and constantly hold you in their grip – even when celebrating your masterpiece.
Brody won his first Oscar as Best Actor in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist and has made a few other memorable films, but this performance will stay with you as he perfectly captures the angst, anxiety and reserved jubilation as he tries to battle his way through in this strangely cruel new world.
He quickly realises he is in a fight for his family’s life. First, he needs to get them there and then he has to make it work at all costs. “They don’t want us here,” he says to his wife, in a delicately balanced performance by Felicity Jones.
The battered architect knows and understands the cost, doesn’t lose his confidence in his own ability and yet, he is kept dangling, always on the edge while surviving on the whims of others. It’s the animal kingdom and only the fiercest fighters survive.
The title might point to a specific architectural style and one that the brave László Toth (with a name that could only come from somewhere else) brilliantly creates, but it is you who will feel battered and brutalised by the end of this majestic film as you witness the treatment of others that the privileged believe they’re entitled to.
It certainly is the scourge of our time and one that director/writer has firmly in his grasp.
Oscar Nominations: Adrien Brody as Best Actor, Felicity Jones as Best Supporting Actress, Guy Pearce as Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Directing, Best Editing, Best Original Score, Best Picture, Best Production Design, Best Original Screenplay
De Beer Necessities 
Dear Diane
Thank you for these reviews. They are really good. I am going to see both movies.
Regards
Brian