Maestro

We're now ramping up into the holiday season where Hollywood often likes to [stressfully] dump a bunch of films within a 2 week span. I've learned to just roll with it, and pick those that interest me and have that be that, but I'll give credit to those that are sending their films to streaming...it makes the decision much easier for me. 

Maestro is one such film. I can't say for certain that I would have sought it out in a theater at this time of the year, but it was a no-brainer on Netflix. I'm not very familiar with Leonard Bernstein, despite having been in band all throughout middle school and high school (trumpet, baby!). 

Unfortunately, I can't say I know a whole lot more about the man after Maestro, and the film itself, as well as my feelings toward it, are quite complicated. It tells the story of famous conductor, Leonard Bernstein and his wife, Felicia Montealegre (what a name!). In some ways this is a love story and the movie's 2ish-hour runtime covers a wide swath of Bernstein's life. 

But it chooses to focus on elements that feel...I don't know really. It just feels like if he was famous for impacting the music world and conducting, shouldn't that have been the core focus? It would have been similar to Oppenheimer focusing mostly on his relationship with women, with a little bit of bomb "stuff" thrown in. In Maestro, there's many, many scenes about Felicia largely being ignored in their marriage, sometimes because Leonard was more interested in men. Sure, this feels like a relevant topic for a portion of the film, but the stress and complications from Leonard's lifestyle seem to be the only focus point. And that's a shame because there's fantastic filmmaking on hand otherwise. 

Bradley Cooper is doing a wild amount of heavy lifting here: directing, writing, and starring. From a writing perspective, I've already shared my thoughts...there are gaps and odd focus areas. From a directing perspective, this is some of his best work yet. There've been several articles detailing his passion for musical conducting, and while that doesn't shine through in the story, it shines through in the filmmaking craft. Scenes where Bernstein is conducting or teaching or discussing music are near-perfect. An extended take of Cooper directing a large band is mesmerizing like very little else has been this year and it's a moment of true transformation into the role. Outside of those moments, there's some creative and gorgeous camera work and ideas floating around, particularly the fact that it consistently looks like a film from the period its set in (at any given point). 

Performances are tremendous with Cooper - as mentioned earlier - fully transforming into this role, especially during musical sequences. Mulligan, who is probably the most talented actress working today, has a tragic arc and sells it well. Many of her final scenes are heartbreaking, but impossible to look away from. Meanwhile, your supporting cast that includes Matt Bomer and Maya Hawke, all support Cooper and Mulligan without stealing any of the limelight. 

As I'm writing this, I can't honestly say what I'd want to give Maestro in terms of review score (so take it with a grain of salt). It's a beautifully made and acted film with a handful of tremendous scenes...but chooses to orient its focuses on almost everything to do with Bernstein except music. If that had not been the case, I believe it could have been one of the year's bests.  

Rath's Review Score | 8/10