The Netflix biographical drama Maria, which comes out in 2024, is about the famous opera singer Maria Callas in her last days. The movie, which was directed by Pablo Larrañn and written by Steven Knight, shows Callas’s retreat into her Parisian apartment, where she struggles with her identity, her health, and the emotional toll of living a public life. Mandrax, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, comes into the story at a fascinating time when Callas is thinking about her life. But who is Mandrax? Is he based on a real reporter?
Who is Mandrax? Is Mandrax Based on a Real Journalist?
Mandrax is first seen in the movie as a young reporter who goes to see Maria Callas to interview her for a TV show. His presence, on the other hand, becomes less clear over time. He shows up out of the blue, without his film crew, and no one else, like Maria’s butler Ferruccio or her housekeeper Bruna, talks to him. This makes me wonder what kind of person he really is.
Its name, “Mandrax,” is also interesting because it sounds like the name of a drug that Maria Callas was known to have taken in her last days. The movie makes a subtle connection between Mandrax the reporter and Maria’s battle with addiction and her mental health getting worse. Through the story, it becomes clear that Mandrax is not a real person but Maria’s imagination and a hallucination. He gives her a safe place to remember the good times and face the truths of her past.
The Significance of Mandrax in Maria
Mandrax is a plot device that lets the movie jump between Maria’s present life and her past. The character gives Maria a way to talk about her deepest feelings and thoughts, giving the audience a personal look into her mind. Maria’s story ends with her death, and Mandrax disappears, proving that he was just a projection of her mind, a ghost of her memories rather than a real person.
In reality, there is ‘NO’ Evidence—to suggest that Maria Callas interacted with a journalist like Mandrax toward the end of her life. While it is documented that Callas relied on prescription medication such as Mandrax [a combination of methaqualone and diphenhydramine] in her later years. And there are no known records of her conjuring a hallucinatory figure resembling a journalist.
Adding Mandrax to Maria in a way that isn’t true to life gives the story more depth by mixing fact with creative storytelling. His presence brings out the mental effects of Maria’s being alone and her health getting-worse as well as her struggles with addiction.
Mandrax: The Truth About the Drug’s Link to Callas
The drug called—Mandrax was a sedative that had methaqualone and diphenhydramine in it. It was used a lot in Europe to help people sleep and relax, but it was taken off the market in the 1980s because it was being abused so much. Maria Callas’s need for these drugs shows how hard it was for her to deal with the stresses of her work and—personal life.
Mandrax, as portrayed in Maria is a fictional construct rather than a real-life journalist. In the movie, he plays a symbolic role as a link between Maria Callas’ inner thoughts and the outside world. Even though the character isn’t based on real events—he adds a touching layer to the story by showing how the opera legend was thinking about herself and being vulnerable in her last days.
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