London Film Festival 2023 review

At the end of Maestro, Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) looks at the camera crew filming an interview with him. Is anything else they want to know? They don’t answer, but the question isn’t really for them – it’s for us. And, yes, there’s plenty more to learn, but we know we won’t find it here. Rather than giving us the whole picture of the composer/conductor’s life, it concentrates on one particular aspect: his relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). Their 30 year partnership also embraced his career from his mid-20s, his extra-marital affairs and their effect on his family. For a cultural giant of the 20^th century, that’s a lot to squeeze in to just over two hours.

The prodigiously gifted musician got the break he’d longed for when he understudies for a leading conductor at Carnegie Hall. He’s an overnight sensation, broadening his repertoire to encom composing orchestral pieces and musicals with equal flair and success. At the same time, he meets and marries Chilean actress Felicia Montealegre: their ion and connection are immediate and intense and she is a constant in building his career – choosing his clothes, cutting his hair and always in the wings for his performances. But they have an almost unspoken agreement: he isn’t going to stop having affairs with other men and she tolerates it. It doesn’t mean, however, that it doesn’t hurt or that such an agreement won’t come at a price …..

This is, essentially, The Bradley Cooper Show. He’s the star, director, producer and writer, although the real Bernstein provides the soundtrack and it’s been chosen brilliantly. Whether it helps the story move forward (Cooper has a liking for near John Wick-style long overhead shots), deepens our understanding of the main character (the frantic energy of the overture to Candide takes on a whole new relevance) or is simply there as an emotional tribute to his talents, it works like a dream. Cooper’s own performance is more variable: as a man who’s high on life, music and anything else that can give him the buzz he constantly craves, there are times when he seems too big for the screen. But Bernstein himself was larger than life, charismatic, extravagantly extrovert so such apparent excesses – one wide-eyed close up in particular – are forgivable. Even so, there are split seconds when you’d swear you were watching Michael Douglas as Liberace.

As his wife, Carey Mulligan is less theatrical and her eyes do much of her talking, especially in the earlier sequences when it’s clear from the outset she understands more about him than he thinks. Their on-screen chemistry – especially in those moments of giddy happiness when they’re just enjoying each other’s company or celebrating his latest performance – is tangible and you wholly believe in their love. It also means that you’re equally convinced by their conflict and her deep-seated pain when it erupts later on.

That Maestro is just Cooper’s second film as a director is remarkable and it will reinforce the reputation he created for himself with A Star Is Born. Such a musical colossus, and his productions, need a big screen but, with a Netflix release just before Christmas, the film’s time in cinemas will be sadly limited. Its visual power will be weakened on a smaller screen but it will remain a ionate, captivating, intense and fascinating film. Word that all describe Bernstein himself.