Bradley Cooper’s journey as a director and screenwriter takes another intriguing turn with Maestro. With the help of adapter Josh Singer (Spotlight, The Post), Cooper brings Leonard Bernstein, the composer and conductor extraordinaire, to life on the big screen for the first notable time. As a top contender for nominations at the 2024 Academy Awards, Maestro is well worth the watch for those following Cooper’s career looking for a somewhat non-traditional biopic regardless of its flaws.
‘Maestro’ Synopsis
Leonard Bernstein, a charismatic and talented individual known in the New York music community, caught a lucky break in his career when he got to conduct at Carnegie Hall at age 25. From then onward, he found success as a brilliant composer in multiple genres and a conductor who inspired the world to embrace classical and modern music. More significantly shown in Maestro is his personal life with his wife and children, alongside his various open, conspicuous affairs with men throughout his life.
Cooper Swings for the Artisan Crowd on ‘Maestro’
Cooper certainly had artistic sensibilities for his update of A Star is Born, which acted as an emotionally moving star vehicle for himself and Lady Gaga while doubling as his directorial debut. Though that film garnered eight Academy Award nominations, Maestro better embodies the identifying characteristics of the award-winning style. Using beautiful half black-and-white, half color, and a fragmented though relatively linear narrative pathway, this film slowly unfolds the complexities of Bernstein, alternating between long, static takes and sweeping, grand shots. More than before, Cooper screams “visionary creative” for himself.
Perhaps that is why this film seems slightly disappointing next to its fellow rumored Best Picture nominees. The obviousness of Cooper’s talent on display in every facet of the film lends a degree of unsavory fiction to Maestro, highlighting the near-impossibility of capturing someone in a cinematic depiction. Cooper and Singer’s artsy, constant lack of change for Bernstein’s journey as a man of multiple lives purposely distances us from a clear view of the mindset of the musical polymath, landing on a message about the disconnect in the personal life of a genius. Maestro might not do complete justice for the life and work of its subject, but it is nonetheless impeccably crafted.
Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan in ‘Maestro’
Immersion is the Name of the Game in ‘Maestro’
The look of Maestro harkens back to the days of classic cinema, designing every scene with beautiful authenticity via detailed work from Cooper and his team. His performance as Bernstein seems fitting enough, though some audiences might have trouble seeing past the heavy prosthetic controversy; the work put into constructing Bernstein’s face throughout his life is as immaculate as any makeup job in history, but it still does not entirely seem real enough. Carey Mulligan is unsurprisingly a powerhouse in her role as Felicia Montealegre, adding heart alongside the portrayal of Bernstein as someone who has emotional difficulties outside of the conductor’s podium.
Since putting a narrative spin on anyone’s life can highlight the fiction of a biopic, Cooper intriguingly leaves Bernstein mostly the same throughout, stuck in a constant state between two worlds of discontent, unable to find one state of happiness. With these compelling but complicated ideas at play, his wife’s shifting position in their relationship adds all of the drama to Maestro. This flawed but worthwhile film experience adds another guaranteed awards nominee to Cooper’s growing filmmaking catalog.
Maestro is streaming now on Netflix.