IR Film Review: MAESTRO [Netflix]
The context of an artist comes in the ideas that they want to convey. The rights to Leonard Bernstein's life is one of a necessity of a musician content in the possibility of himself and the vivacity of life but sometimes unable to control the more complex portions of social reality. Writer/Director/Star Bradley Cooper has created a beautiful at times, though disjointed at others portrait of this man, flawed in many ways, angelic in others and yet elusive. Cooper uses cinematic language (through some absolutely gorgeous photography in different formats by Matthew Libatique, who is also Darren Aronofsky's cinematographer) to show the different stages of this man's life. But ironically, this is not Bernstein's film in many essences. It is more the portrait of his wife Felicia (played with faded brilliance by Carey Mulligan) that really shines.
Watching her transformation and how she struggles with the man she knows as Lenny with all his wants, needs and intents up until the very end when she deals with life and death is what grounds this movie. Cooper as Bernstein can be great at times but his performance is at others is too over the top and sometimes not as subtle as it could be (though it at times still is). It works better in his earlier scenes as the younger Bernstein and then the bookends as the extremely old Bernstein. It is the middle parts where you can see Cooper almost too much trying to be the man. It is a hard balance. "A Star Is Born" he almost completely changed himself in physicality and voice tone. The challenge here is that this was a real man so attention to detail which he is good at is exceptionally important but it is completely in your face (and not covered by long hair). Again at points Cooper does it brilliantly.
One scene progression from an argument built up in their New York apartment between he and Mulligan where their argument overlays (which is well done when they get into the rhythm) leads into the best sequence in the film with a peformance of Mahler in the Ely Cathedral. Cooper seems like he spent oodles of time learning this. This sequence is where the film is unbelievably firing on all thrusters. You see the brilliance of the man, his insecurities, his love for his wife as he can and her path to him, however broken.
The film technically captures everything well and you can see the essence of a man who thought he never quite accomplished what he could have and yet did so much more than many. His struggle but also his vivacity was stuck in an age that didn't allow him to truly be himself. However, like Freddie Mercury, he also didn't want to be held back in what made him happy while it made some others miserable. Cooper creates an (at times) disjointed but at others, brilliant portrait of a complex man. But the movie is really Mulligan's as his forever loving but tragic and complex wife Felicia. B+
By Tim Wassberg
