I’ll keep this review short because I have little to say. MAESTRO was a fine film, a very fine film indeed. It’s a kind of theatrical film where characters can grab each other's hands and run from set to set on a whim. At some point, Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) and Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) stand on a stage with Broadway dancers pulling them apart to show the obstacles they must overcome to be together. And while there is a fantasized theatricality to the film, the emotions of it are, at times, dreadfully real.
The film doesn’t take the easy path of Bernstein from birth to death. Instead, it intimately focuses on the beautiful relationship between Leonard and Felicia. Cooper plays Bernstein with a neurotic exactness, one expected of a genius. He is constantly talking over Felicia, and everything he says feels like a quote from an academic’s diary. Mulligan invigorates Felicia’s character—she is bold, free, and always equipped with the best advice. Though not lacking in her own ambitions, she inevitably falls under Bernstein’s great shadow. At some point, Cooper literally films her standing in Bernstein’s shadow as he conducts onstage. This shot is a little heavy handed, but it actually suits the staged visuals of the film.
The film wasn’t about a tantalizing subject, but it was ever-engaging. The sheer chemistry between Leonard and Felicia, his openly held affairs, her careful unwinding, their cruel breakup, their sweet reconciliation…Cooper made a film about a love story that ebbs and flows in ways not particular to this couple. Nevertheless, he made it so that I never longed for distraction.
Cooper is a consistent director. He is thoughtful and talented. It makes sense that such a marvelous actor is so considerate about film, though not every actor can say the same about themselves. I’m surprised to see that the film is not garnering as many awards as it should. In anycase, it deserves a higher rating than 79% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Congratulations Bradley Cooper!
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