Entertainment Movies Drama Movies Moonlight Director Compares Angelina Jolie's Maria Performance to Denzel Washington as Malcolm X: 'So Striking' Barry Jenkins told Angelina Jolie her performance as Maria Callas in 'Maria' "is so striking" while discussing the movie during an Oct. 26 Q&A By Tommy McArdle Tommy McArdle Tommy McArdle is an editorial assistant on the Movies team at PEOPLE. Tommy joined PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on November 6, 2024 03:16PM EST Comments Angelina Jolie in Maria and Denzel Washington in Malcolm X. Photo: Pablo Larraín/Netflix, Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection Oscar winner Barry Jenkins is praising Angelina Jolie's performance in Maria. During an Oct. 26 AFI Festival conversation with Jolie, 49, Moonlight director Jenkins, 44, compared her work as 20th century opera singer Maria Callas to Denzel Washington's performance as Malcolm X in Spike Lee's 1992 film, and Jesse Eisenberg's acclaimed portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in 2010's The Social Network. “The performance is so striking,” the filmmaker told Jolie during a conversation about the film, in a video shared by Indiewire. "It’s almost like, to me, Jesse Eisenberg is Mark Zuckerberg. Denzel Washington is Malcolm X, in a certain way. And I think you are Maria Callas in the same way. In this movie, in so many moments, you are performing with your whole body.” Angelina Jolie Reveals Why Her and Brad Pitt's 6 Kids Aren't Interested in Becoming Famous Angelina Jolie in Maria. Pablo Larrain/Netflix Jolie expects to remain a major contender for awards season with Maria, which opens in select theaters Nov. 27 and begins streaming on Netflix Dec. 11. Both Washington, 69, and Eisenberg, 41, received Oscar nominations for the roles Jenkins compared Jolie's performance to. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Don't Expect to See Angelina Jolie in a Romantic Comedy Anytime Soon: 'I Don't Know How Good I'd Be' Angelina Jolie in Maria. Pablo Larraín Maria follows Callas "in her final days as the diva reckons with her identity and life," according to an official synopsis for the movie, which also stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino and Valeria Golino. The real-life Callas died in Paris in 1977 of a heart attack at age 53. During that same Oct. 26 Q&A, Jolie shared that shooting the new movie, her first since 2021's Eternals, enabled her "to be terrified again as an artist." "Which is such a gift, because you get scared and have to do something you’re not sure you can do, and surprise yourself," she said at the time. Later in the conversation, she added of her performance, "I knew I had a safe place to fail, so I was allowed to be free." Close