To play Maria Callas, Angelina Jolie had to learn how to breathe again

AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Angelina Jolie never expected to hit all the notes. But finding the breath of Maria Callas was enough to bring things out of Jolie that she didn’t even know were in her. In Pablo Larrain’s “Maria,” Jolie gives, if not the performance of her career, then certainly of her last decade. Beginning with 2010’s “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” Jolie has spent recent years directing films while otherwise prioritizing raising her six children. But for the first time in years, Jolie is back in the spotlight, front and center. Her commanding performance in “Maria” seems assured of bringing Jolie her third Oscar nomination. “Maria” may even be Jolie’s defining role.