STORY & REVIEW
In 1943, a maestro and an actress met at the party. They develop a relationship and get married. As time passes, their personal lives cope with troubles and suffocate in the complexity of their choices.
Starring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan as real-life couple Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre, Maestro is a two-hour but timeless journey into their lives. The film doesn’t have a particular plot but a screenplay and the beauty of writing lies in their complicated times. This is a passion project about the world of Leonard and his partnership with Felicia and his passion for music.
Maestro is more driven towards the drama inclining towards Leonard’s love life with Felicia. With the given title, I was expecting the dramatizing about the making of arguably 20th century’s greatest music conductor. So the hopes dashed for not getting to watch more about his musical works for West Side Story and On The Waterfront.
The chemistry of Leonard and Felicia is heartwarming. The writing about their affair is rich, you can feel the growth and that tickle of passion is right there in their exciting moments at the closed theatre, in the park, and on the table.
When the first half settles the audience into their lives, the other half shifts the gear to some eye-catching moments that crafts the relationship drama into excellence. Have a look at their heated argument that runs for four straight minutes in one shot. Cooper and Mulligan opens a theatre there.
And this is followed by Bradley Cooper’s mind-blowing solo act as a conductor for around five or six minutes. He performed it with such perfection and incredible body language of a conductor that I forgot it was Bradley doing a Leonard impression for so many minutes. That act is going to blow everyone’s mind.
In fact, Bradley was phenomenal throughout the film. Breaking his typical norm of his usual acting and shaping into the character with a different accent, mannerism, and behavior. I sense Bradley is a more serious contender to win the Oscar for the Best Actor than Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer.
A major plus above Bradley’s performance is Carey Mulligan equally giving a splendid performance that stamps Maestro to more critical approvals. She is the best other half that completes the film. From the moment the doctor breaks the news, Carey doesn’t stop impressing us. Observe her distress when she attends the visitors. Her hopelessness, agony, and crying is so heartfelt.
To understand the beauty of filmmaking, always observe the film shooting techniques. That is the major game that gathers the praises from the audience. Why Maestro is a supreme quality of filmmaking is due to the selection of camera angles where the screenplay heavily grows on Bradley and Carey.
The one-shot scene is an art, a technique that needs to be carefully implemented. But also, the zooming angles of some important shots like Felicia’s discomfort in attending visitors, the doctor breaking the news, the couples sitting opposite in the park, are some reminders of the classical style of filmmaking.
HISTORICAL ACCURACY
To all who cares about the accuracy in the truthfulness of the film’s storyline, much of the developments in Maestro are highly accurate.
Daughter Jamie asking the rumors about her father’s sexuality is true.
Felicia was aware about Leonard’s bisexuality before marrying him.
Leonard and Felicia did meet for the first time in a party.
As depicted, Leonard took the stage as a substitute conductor from where he rose to prominence.
And the most delightful of all, multiple scenes in the film are shot in Leonard’s actual country house situated in Fairfield, Connecticut.
CLOSING REMARKS
I am not sure if I must call Maestro a masterpiece. Because films like Maestro generally qualifies as masterpiece as some 150-minute slow-burners. Maestro was like that but broke the taboo. In two hours, Maestro proved that one can dramatize such drama with pace in the screenplay and race with time. I am very impressed with Bradley Cooper as a director this time. I sense a faithful virtuosity in doing justice with a story about a legendary musician with sincere ambition.
For me, Maestro is a captivating drama and is recommendable to all who appreciate quality of filmmaking with magnificent performances.
RATING 8.8/10
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Sami Naik | Film Critic 