Cr. Jason McDonald/Netflix © 2023.
Premiering at the Venice Film Festival where it was nominated for the prestigious Golden Lion, Maestro is the long-awaited biopic chronicling the lifelong relationship of legendary conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein and actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein.
Original set at Paramount Pictures with such high profile directors as Martin Scorsese & Steven Spielberg attached, the film arrives as the 2nd feature film from Bradley Cooper, who was celebrated for his directorial debut A Star Is Born (2018) to the tune of several directing achievement nominations including Critics Choice, BAFTA, Golden Globes, & the Directors Guild of America.
While he may not have been nominated for Best Director at the 2019 Oscars, Cooper was nominated for his lead performance in the film, as well as, Best Adapted Screenplay for the script he co-wrote with Eric Roth & Will Fetters and Best Motion Picture of the Year as a producer on the project.
Cooper steps into the same set of roles on Maestro as he takes on the lead as Bernstein himself while also stepping behind the camera to direct, produce, and co-write the screenplay with Oscar Winning scribe Josh Singer, who took home the award with director and co-writer Tom McCarthy for Best Picture Winner Spotlight in 2016.
With his film, Cooper seems to have aroused acclaim once again as it has already hit the Awards Circuit ground running with 8 Critics Choice nominations & 4 Golden Globe noms while also being named as one of the best films of the year by AFI & the National Board of Review.
However, the film has not been without its detractors. Some have criticized the narrowing of the Bernstein story to focus more on his courtship & marriage to Felicia, especially considering his homosexual lifestyle outside of that relationship. However, I found most of the decisions made in this film to be rather remarkable, including those that others have lamented.
The film never shies from any of Bernstein’s many lives and uses the focus of his constantly evolving partnership with his wife to portray them all. Cooper paints the picture of a tortured artist constantly moving between worlds and never truly finding satisfaction in any of them. Heralded by many as the greatest American conductor, but always looked to creation as a composer to keep him afloat. Punished by his own measure that he didn’t create enough, even though he composed several timeless pieces of music including West Side Story & On The Waterfront. Outwardly, a gregarious social butterfly who could light up any room, while inside suffering from deep depressions that would have derailed his career without his people-pleasing work ethic and strong support system. And, of course, his relationship with Felicia; knowing full well of his homosexual desires, he’s drawn to her as she sees him for all that he is and is happy – for a time – to play the roles that suit their needs. Muse, caretaker, confidant, maternal figure, executive assistant, life coach. Even with all that she gave, he still took advantage and couldn’t strike the balance he so desperately needed.
The brilliance of the writing focusing on Bernstein’s life as shaped, shattered, & saved by Felicia is that we get to see all the angles of how his life unfolded and how it affected the people closest to him. For every step forward in Bernstein’s career or any new level of fame that is achieved, the audience gets to revel in his successes, marvel at his mastery of the various forms, but also get to see how it eroded the strength of Felicia; a woman who held everything together, take the necessary back seat, deny the rumors, lie to her children, and do what she thought was best for the sake of what mattered most.
While the first 2 acts of Maestro do well to show the emotional rollercoasters & weathered storms before it briefly comes apart, it’s the final act of the film that rewards us for our endurance. In a sequence loaded with Oscar Reel clips, Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, She Said) gives her finest work to date in a restaurant scene where she comes to terms with her flawed dynamic with Bernstein. Her speech about being the one who’s being untruthful because she lied when she said she didn’t “need” is so captivating & powerful and punctuates her character’s selflessness to a massive fault. Her line “I miss him … that child of mine” shows her recognition of the true needs she still has for him and the dynamic that will propel her to take him back. This scene is punctuated by their embrace following a 6 minute live conduction by Cooper; a stunning & enrapturing performance that Cooper worked on for 6 years. The labor of love in everything that this movie accomplishes is felt so deeply as the film moves towards its final moments.
Cr. Jason McDonald/Netflix © 2023.
While Cooper & Mulligan will rightly be recognized for their incredible performances, the film is teaming with talent in front of and behind the camera. Standout support from the likes of Maya Hawke (the “relieved” scene with Bernstein especially), Sarah Silverman, & Matt Bomer highlight the deep & delightful cast. 2-time Oscar Nominated Cinematographer Matthew Libatique (A Star Is Born, Black Swan) guides Cooper’s vision for this relationship from stunning Capra-esque black & white meet-cute to larger-than-life musical performances. And, of course, the music of Leonard Bernstein himself and the film’s music department accentuating the harmony & the harm of each passing moment.
Overall, Maestro is a triumph as a biopic, a complicated love story, & a dissection of the life of an artist and his muse. Cooper’s direction weaves a delicate balance of all the permutations Bernstein’s life provides from being the mythical face of classical music in America to hiding in plain sight as a depressive & closeted creator at odds with his own choices. Cooper & Mulligan steal the show in almost polar opposite, but aptly suited roles. A deep cast, enthralling musical sequences, brilliant cinematography, & a deeply satisfying and moving screenplay tick all the boxes for an awards season contender. A worthy successor to A Star Is Born for Cooper that will put his name in any conversation for best directors working today.
Watch Maestro If You Liked
- A Star Is Born (2018)
- Tar
- Amadeus
- Inside Llewyn Davis
MVP of Maestro
Bradley Cooper
Taking over a project from legends such as Spielberg & Scorsese can be a daunting task in which many could not live up; However, Bradley Cooper almost revels in artistic challenges. With A Star Is Born, Cooper took a story that many have done before him and made it his own to a massive success. In Maestro, he defies convention with a biopic modified into a sophisticated love story & a dual character study of one of the more complicated artistic relationships of the last century. As producer, director, writer, & performer, Cooper has his prints in every aspect of the film and the product is better for it. His painstaking level of detail and obvious love & empathy for his characters bring what could have been a more straightforward tortured genius story to something more compelling & moving. Much like A Star Is Born, look for Cooper to be nominated many times over during Awards Season; But unlike 2019, we hope to see him nominated for Best Director at the Oscars in 2024.
Netflix’s Best Movie of 2023!
Bradley Cooper & Carey Mulligan shine in Cooper’s latest music-laden labor of love. More complex romance than biopic, Cooper gives a deeper, richer experience than the average awards-grabby biopic with a final act that will crush you and reward you all the same.