In the new Netflix film “Maria”, Angelina Jolie plays opera legend Maria Callas, who is depicted as hallucinating a journalist named Mandrax. However, Mandrax is not a real person and is instead a product of Callas’ drug addiction. The film’s director, Pablo LarraÃn, and screenwriter, Steven Knight, use this storytelling device to explore key events in Callas’ life.
Experts on Callas, including Wellesley College psychology professor Paul M. Wink and documentarian and author Tom Volf, agree that the film takes creative liberties with Callas’ hallucinations. While Mandrax is a real drug that Callas did take, there is no evidence to suggest that she experienced hallucinations.
Wink notes that drugs can cause visual hallucinations, but they are not typically under a person’s control. Volf, who has spent years studying Callas and directing a documentary about her, agrees that the film is a work of fiction and not meant to be taken as a factual representation.
Volf’s documentary “Maria by Callas” uses primary sources to tell Callas’ story in her own words, while “Maria” uses fictional characters and events to explore her life. Both Volf and Wink suggest that there is room for both approaches, and that audiences can choose which type of film they prefer.
