Best Pictures #99: 2023 (96th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Maestro

by A.J.

Best Pictures #99: 2023 (96th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Maestro

“The other night I drifted nice 

continental drift divide

Mountains sit in a line, 

Leonard Bernstein,”

–It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine), REM 

From working in the classical department of Tower Records across from Lincoln Center in Manhattan I learned that Leonard Bernstein was a famous, loved, and revered conductor and composer. The DVD box-set of his Young People’s Concerts, so expensive it had to be kept behind the counter, sat on a shelf over my shoulder during every shift. I already knew that he was the only lyric anyone could anticipate in REM’s song “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” Even if I hadn’t worked in the classical department I would have learned about Leonard Bernstein from his music for movies like On the Town and, most famously, West Side Story. But what exactly was it about Bernstein that separated him from other prestigious conductors and composers? I did not learn that from the Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, which is technical and even artistic achievement but unfortunately lacking as an engaging biography.

Bradley Cooper’s directorial follow up to his excellent remake of A Star is Born begins in black and white in Academy ratio (a square frame) like a movie made in the 1940’s and 50’s would have been, but the style of this portion of the film is its most unconventional. It's also the liveliest portion. These scenes mix Bernstein’s music with moments of his life in exciting ways. One scene begins at an outdoor lunch where Bernstein (Cooper) is advised to change his name to Burns if he ever wants to lead an orchestra. Bernstein and his wife, Felicia (Carey Mulligan), decide to do things their way and walk from the outdoor lunch table right into the balcony of a theater where On the Town is being performed and end up on stage. When the movie switches over to color it drops its heightened style and becomes a fairly bland biopic. 

Cooper long ago proved himself to be a great actor, capable of comedy or drama or a little bit of both simultaneously depending on the script, and here he turns in a solid performance. The prosthetics and old age make-up are actually very well done and are not distracting (or potentially offensive) as early publicity photos led many to fear. He captures Bernstein’s accent and manner of speaking without feeling like he is showing off. Carey Mulligan also gives a solid performance, likewise capturing a very mannered accent and personality without drawing attention to herself. Mulligan and Cooper are great together in their fun romantic scenes and later dramatic scenes. 

In the black and white portion of Bernstein’s early career we see his relationship with a clarinet player, David (Matt Bomer), but without much detail. It’s the performances of both actors that let us know how meaningful the relationship was. Their farewell is the movie’s emotional apex. In a later scene we see Bernstein caught with a younger male admirer in a hallway of the family apartment at a party. Bernstein is embarrassed because he should know better. Felicia scolds him, “You’re getting sloppy.” We learn little else of whatever understanding or agreement they may have had regarding Bernstein’s sexuality.  

Cooper the director once again works with cinematographer Matthew Libatique, who earned an Oscar nomination for A Star is Born and now has earned an Oscar nomination for his work here. They make a great pair. In the black and white scenes the camera glides and even seems to fly in a way that captures Bernstein's excitement about music. That lively movement is lost when the film moves to the color era and the cinematography becomes much more conventional though still well shot. 

Most of Maestro consists of domestic scenes that should feel intimate: a day in the park, preparing a guest list, a doctor’s appointment, a dance. However, instead of feeling like a fly on the wall, it felt like I was at a museum trying to understand an exhibit I’d been assured was meaningful art. Instead of building relatability and fleshing out the characters these scenes feel flat, and therefore, unfortunately, so does the rest of the movie. It's clear that Bradley Cooper, who in addition to acting and directing also produced and co-wrote the screenplay, loves and reveres Leonard Bernstein. The problem is that Cooper's film assumes we already feel the same and are here to revel in Bernstein’s greatness instead of seeing who the man was as a person, the impact he had on his field and the wider culture, and why we should feel what the filmmakers feel for the subject.