Angelina Jolie in tears at Maria premiere as biopic tipped for Oscars glory

Angelina Jolie has generated early Oscars buzz for her portrayal of Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín's biopic of the opera singer, which was celebrated at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, 29 August.

The actor was brought to tears by the overwhelmingly positive response the film received at the event, where it was also met with a 10-minute standing ovation per Deadline. Jolie could be seen visibly moved by the audience's celebration of their work, and she was comforted by her co-star Pierfrancesco Favino.

Jolie, Larraín and her co-stars stunned on the red carpet, with the Oscar winner exuding elegance in a stunning cream gown which was complete with a faux-fur bodice.

Maria tells the story of the legendary opera singer towards the end of her life, and her struggle with substance abuse, eating disorders, and the acceptance that her voice is no longer as strong as it once was. Critics tipped Jolie for Best Actress glory in awards season, remarking how impressive her performance is.

Deadline's Stephanie Bunbury was gushing in her praise of the actor, writing: "Jolie is an almost magical match for the real diva: achingly thin but still beautiful, loftily patrician, capriciously kind or selfish, tip-toeing dangerously close to madness. The actor’s commitment to this creation is obvious at every turn.

"Knowing that Callas was only happy when on stage, she learned to sing for the role; the voice we hear is a blend of Callas and Jolie’s own. Even more importantly, we can see her chest rise and veins swell as she is consumed, body and soul, by the physical and emotional effort of singing."

Read more: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hailed 'a blast' as reviews celebrate Tim Burton's return

Bubury added that while Jolie is remarkable as Callas the biopic does feel "curiously bloodless" as it leaves the opera singer "distant and unknowable" til the last.

This was something that The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney also picked up on, with the critic saying "the movie is like a glittering jewel in a glass showcase, inviting you to look but not touch."

Rooney added "that doesn’t mean it’s uninvolving or that Jolie’s technically precise interpretation isn’t impressive" and he commended the film for being a "far more daring and unconventional take" on telling Callas' life than previous films.

IndieWire's David Ehrlich also praised the actor's performance, writing: "Jolie gives this immaculately adorned movie a much-needed sense of interiority. Callas may be straining to find if she 'still has a voice,' but Jolie’s sharp transatlantic drawl fills the space around her, even in its frailty."

However, the critic added that "despite the richness of Larraín’s directorial vibrato, and the haughty (but tenderly knowing) spectacle that Angelina Jolie makes of his latest muse" the film feels "frustratingly vague" and it "seldom feels like more than a libretto: passionately sung, but lacking the detail and fullness needed to bring it to life."

Variety's Owen Gleiberman felt similarly, writing: "From the moment she appears on screen, she seizes our attention, playing Maria as woman of wiles who is imperious, mysterious, fusing the life force of a genius diva with the downbeat emotional fire of a femme fatale.

"Jolie, for the first time in years, reminds you that she can be a deadly serious actor of commanding subtlety and power."

But even so the film's approach to Callas' life "does it little favour" as it makes the opera singer feel like a "lesser figure" compared to Larraín’s previous biopics Jackie and Spencer because there is less at stake.

Jolie revealed at a press conference for the movie that she was "terribly nervous" about learning to sing for the film, per Variety, and that her "fear would be to dissapoint [Maria Callas' fans] because she came to "care for her" in the process of portraying her.

The actor spent seven months training in order to portray the opera diva, she explained: "I spent almost seven months training because when you work with Pablo you can’t do anything by half. He demands, in the most wonderful way, that you really do the work and you really learn and train."

Maria will be released in cinemas and on Netflix soon.