Written by: Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Bradley Cooper, Matt Bomer, Vincenzo Amato, Greg Hildreth
Rating: [2.5/5]
Capturing the life and impact of an individual influential figure in American history exists as such a difficult task because everyone will have a different perspective of what should serve as the focus of the tale. Some will complain if there’s too much on the personal, while others would say the same if too much was on the professional. Any artist looking to take up the project must, however, make their decisions and while Bradley Cooper had great intentions with what he wanted to craft in Maestro, it left plenty to be desired.
A young Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) has vast aspirations for his future as a conductor when called upon to make his debut on short notice, where he gives an exceptional performance. Then at a party he meets Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) who he falls in love with and as the years go by their marriage defines much of his work, but certainly does not come with its own issues.
With someone as influential as Leonard Bernstein who lived quite the famed life, Cooper decided to make much of the focus of this feature on the relationship Bernstein had with his wife Felicia. Rather than opting into showing his incredible rise, much of these scenes focused on how segments of his ascent impacted the relationship he had to his wife, which faced complications because of him being bisexual. While this approach can earn some appreciation, the manner in which Cooper decides to go about displaying it makes for just a disjointed viewing experience.
This relationship certainly lasted decades, but the manner in which we jump from segment to segment in this feature does absolutely no favors regarding the momentum of each of these scenes. We fast-forward from one year to another to the point where much of it felt quite disjointed in the effort to truly follow along. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable about Bernstein’s life did not need as much cueing to these moments, but it left so much to be desired, seeing as we cut from these momentous moments and start the roll all over again in this new era in the relationship between these two.
That does not take away from the individual brilliance of these scenes because there are some individual moments that simply exhilarate. Moments like the performance at the cathedral or when Felicia watched Bernstein perform and has this shadow of him overtake her. Individually, these scenes are gorgeous and capture so much of what Cooper wants to convey about this artist and man, but then it cuts away to a later period in his life. It leaves this film existing as a series of vignettes that do not have the necessary cohesion to make a feature film. Sure, I would love to go back and watch individual clips of this film, but I would never dare sit through it from beginning to end unless I want to feel frustrated all over again on this missed opportunity.
Even given the major frustration I hold for this film, I cannot deny just how well Carey Mulligan did in the role of Felicia. While Cooper certainly gave it his all in his portrayal of Bernstein, Mulligan was far more graceful and simply out acted everyone near her. Some scenes were painful to watch because she absolutely mopped up the floor with them compared to what she did in the realm of her role. Cooper’s focus on her throughout the story certainly came to her benefit, and she made sure not to squander the opportunity in displaying Felicia as such an integral figure in the life of this brilliant artist. It moved beyond the “wife” character, but someone his equal as displayed in the screen time they shared.
While Maestro provides plenty to appreciate from its cinematography by Matthew Libatique and the effort given by the two lead actors, it struggles so much in presenting one cohesive narrative that it does not allow any particular scene to breath and leave the impact this film wants us to feel from it. Makes for such an unfortunate viewing experience that took away enjoyment that can be held as a whole with what we receive on-screen. I still appreciate Bradley Cooper as a director and the particular eye he has for capturing emotion and passion, but this film unfortunately sits as a misfire on his part.
Films with Josh 
