Sunday, February 4, 2024

Maestro (2023)

Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Hair and Makeup.    Ah, Bradley Cooper:  the new Susan Lucci of the Oscars.

Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) lived a life full of hedonism, freely loving men and women, composing, conducting, and generally grasping at all life could offer.  He meets Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan), an aspiring actress, marries her and has three beautiful children.  His career continues to grow, while she is left further in his shadow.  

I will be the first to tell you I don't know shit about classical music, conductors, or composers so learning that Leonard Bernstein was a Disaster Bisexual was a fun fact.  It was entertaining and glossy with big musical interludes.  It's also about 40 minutes too long and has no central conflict.  They try to make the wife a villain while still being sympathetic and I just don't think it strikes the right balance.  

There was a minor controversy when this was being made because Cooper insisted on wearing a prosthetic nose to look more like Bernstein.  It tied into larger discussions about anti-semitism and stereotypes and I frankly don't know enough to get into that.  I will say that at no point in the film did he look like anyone but Bradley Cooper to me so I don't know that it was even worth it but it was his vision and he executed it.

Cinematography is fine.  There are a lot of close-ups of Cooper.  Is this going to win any of the categories it's nominated for?  I don't think so.  There were other, better, flashier, more popular entries this year.  I think it's a solid entry on Cooper's resumé and that's about it.  It's currently streaming on Netflix if you are in the mood for a breezy biopic.

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