Movie Review: Maestro

 Movie Number 41 of 2023

The Movie: Maestro

The Cinema: Village Cinemas, The Rivoli, Camberwell (Note: This is coming to Netflix on Wednesday)

Stars: 4

I'm really glad I got to see this film about the legendary Leonard Bernstein on the big screen. Some films warrant it. I think of what Oppenheimer might be like on the telly. Or Murder on the Orient Express (the Branagh version). This production out of the Netflix stable is going to stream there from Wednesday the 20th, but it's getting a limited run in the cinemas. 

And rightly so. 

If you haven't seen some of the quality films produced by Netflix until now, have a look. There are some crackers. The Two Popes, Don't Look Up, Glass Onion, The Irishman, Marriage Story, Roma... Awesome films which win awards. 

This is up there with the quality stuff. Bradley Cooper's acting, writing and directing are fantastic. 

Maestro does come across as a labour of love. There's also been some controversy about the prosthetic nose Cooper wears throughout the movie, the story of a genius, and of a marriage. But there is more to this than a fake nose. Cooper is exceptional in this. 

The focus of the film is the relationship, and subsequent marriage of Bernstein to his long suffering and rather brilliant wife, Felicia, played by Carey Mulligan. The film spans about forty years, looking at the relationship from when they first met, through the marriage, complete with "Lenny's" philandering, to Felicia's death in 1978.

There is also a great supporting cast, with smaller roles going to Matt Bomer, Sarah Silverman, Maya Hawke, Michael Urie and Alexa Swinton. I spent a bit of the movie working out where I had seen a few of the cast. 

Shot partly in black and white, partly in colour, it takes a deep dive into these two complex people. Bernstein was bisexual and had relationships with many men and women. Felicia, always on the sidelines, held the fort as her husband cut his way through the musical elite.

This is a loving portrait, beautifully shot, with great acting and a fabulous Bernstein sound track. 

This is very much Bradley Cooper's movie. It's been nominated for a number of Golden Globe awards. I'm pretty sure this will get a few Oscar nods. It probably won't win, but nominations will be well deserved. 

This is going to be on Netflix from Wednesday, 20 December. I'm glad I've seen it on the big screen, but it will still be great to watch in the comfort of your living room. It's definitely worth a look.

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