'Maria' Ending Explained: Angelina Jolie's Netflix film pays homage to iconic opera singer
Contains spoilers for 'Maria'
Pablo Larraín, in his latest film for Netflix, reimagines the final days of opera singer Maria Callas (played by Angelina Jolie). The biographical film titled 'Maria' is set in 1977 where Callas lives in her Paris home with her compassionate and caring butler Ferruccio (Pierfranceso Favino), and housemaid, Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher).
Maris's health declines and she doesn't take her medical treatment too seriously. Emphasizing how she is the one in control of her medication, she often consumes more pills than required, making her hallucinate. Amid her failing health and her staff constantly pushing her to see a doctor, Maria's sole focus is to try and sing again.
Maria Callas's decision to avoid treatment, explained
Maria's health does get any better and her butler is concerned. While she avoids meeting the doctor, Ferruccio manages to fix an appointment. When the doctor arrives with the blood reports, he tells Maria to stop singing again. He warns that pushing her limits could turn fatal for her. However, Maria decides to ignore the doctor's advice. She continues the overdose of pills because the hallucinations take her to bygone days of her performances on stage.
Also, Maria doesn't know how to live without music. She tells that her mother always forced her to sing, while later in her life, Aristotle Onassis stopped her. And now, she wants to sing because it would be the first time she would be singing for herself.
Maria Callas dies after her final act
Throughout the film, it appears as if Maria is just waiting for her life to end. Towards the end of the scene, she tells Bruna and Ferruccio to stay together after she is gone. The next day, she lays in her bed, hesitant to wake up. When Bruna and Ferruccio step out for grocery shopping, Maria gets up and starts singing in her apartment's hall.
With her illness and dependency of drugs, she gets visions of an opera act, where Maria delivers her final performance. Dressed in a white gown, she sings with all her heart and soul, making people in the streets to stop and listen to her iconic voice. Despite knowing that pushing her limits could be harmful, Maria goes ahead for her final epic note. This is when she suffers a heart attack and collapses. Bruna and Ferruccio arrive at the apartment and find her dead. Thus, she dies doing what she loved the most and receving the adoration from people.
'Maria' is available to stream on Netflix