Maestro

⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

Right off the top, I want to say, if you are considering watching this please please please watch Tár first, or even instead. I think they are different movies, but this movie wishes it could say as much and be as effective as Tár. Conductor-movie PSA over.

My feelings about A Star Is Born are clear on this app (masterpiece), so why wouldn't I be excited for the next movie directed by and starring Bradley Cooper? Well, he certainly goes for it in this one, with directorial flourishes that make it clear that he is gunning for every accolade he can get his hands on. Half the movie is black and white, interesting score choices, camera whirling around, dream sequences, its all here. There is one scene in particular, a 5 minute conducting sequence where it is clear he went all method and learned to do this for real, this is pretty breathtaking, and easily the best part of the movie.

Oh, this is a movie where Bradley Cooper plays Leonard Bernstein, a conductor and composer. It is a biopic, where we see him become a star, fall in love, wreck is relationship, classic great man with a woman in his way stuff. I thought the movie dragged a bit, especially early on, and although the method stuff is cringey the transformation he pulls off is pretty remarkable.

I also thought the movie skipped too much. Its very focused on his relationship with his eventual wife, played by Carey Mulligan doing some perplexing accent work. I wanted to see more of his professional life, his rise to fame is glossed over and it makes you wonder how a conductor could go mainstream.

So ya, not sure what the point of this movie was other than for Cooper to flex his acting and directing chops to win awards. It tells a story we have seen a thousand times (even this year with Oppenheimer for example) about a genius man whose genius kind of tears his life apart but how cool is it that he is genius. As I said off the top, Tár plays on similar themes but has so much more to say and is so much more interesting. 8 stars purely for Cooper being 100% earnest in the pursuit of his own greatness. Clearly he thinks him and Bernstein are kindred spirits...