Maestro (Bradley Cooper, 2023): USA

Reviewed by Luca Rijkhoff. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2024

Maestro is a movie of Bradley Cooper, and it follows the story of famous conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. Cooper doesn’t only direct the movie, but also plays the main lead and is co-producer and -writer. He is also famous for acting roles in The Hangover, and is also acting and directing in A Star is Born. Other people involved are actors Carey Mulligan, Maya Hawke and Matt Bomer. Bradley received an award on the Santa Barbara International Film Festival for outstanding performance for this role. The movie is nominated for 7 Oscars and won 19 awards, with 177 nominations in total.

The story focuses on the personal life of Leonard Bernstein, his relationship with his wife and his career success. His career starts when he gets a call and has to stand in for a conductor that’s sick, and not able to perform. Leonard does such a great job that he reaches the front page of the NY Times. Lenny, like Leonard is called, has a complex relationship with Felicia (Carey Mulligan), because he is gay, which is not really accepted at his time. It is not really shown in the movie how and when Felicia knew this, but at some point it becomes clear that she is aware of his sexuality and accepts it. In a restaurant scene, where she discusses their relationship with a friend, she tells her that she thought she would be okay with it, and that she was always proud that everybody was craving for Leonard’s attention, and she could resist that. But now she realized that she is, in fact, also craving for his attention and that it becomes hard to see him with other people. Felicia and Leonard have three kids, who all have kind of a hard time dealing with the fact that their father is a famous and busy man, who has to divide his attention. On thanksgiving, Leonard is almost too late and his eldest daughter, played by Maya Hawke, tells him that he should get responsibility and be there for his kids.

The genre of this movie is a biography, since Leonard Bernstein is a real person and they shot scenes in the family home of the Bernstein’s. One of the producers, Fred Berner, attended a panel at the SBIFF and explained that the script was approved by the Bernstein family before production and that they had a lot to say about their parents, and what kind of people they were. The make-up is done really great and Bradley Cooper actually really looks like the original Leonard. The first act, except for the opening, is completely in black and white and it takes place in the younger years of Felica and Leonard, when they meet. The aspect ratio is also different in this part, which makes it look so much more realistic and more relatable to the time they were living in. There are a lot of time jumps in the story but it’s still all in the last century, from the ‘40s until the ‘80s. The mise-an-scene is very appropriate for that time, including the never-ending cigarettes, costumes and hairstyles, and home interiors.

To be honest, I’ve never heard of the name Leonard Bernstein before watching this movie, but I feel like I know exactly who he was now. To be he does seem like a complex man, but he gives everything for the people he loves and the last scenes show that he really loved Felicia with all his heart, even if it was platonic. In my opinion, they portrayed his life story in the most perfect way possible and every single detail is right. Also, there are not too much scenes of him at work, but his songs are still playing, which for me, as someone who knows nothing about conductor and orchestra, makes it not boring at all.