Maestro

[Steve Williams]

saw this film today at home as I didn't realize it was being streamed by Netflix for free.

Impressive list of Producers and consultants to this movie including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese as Dudamel. The film was not overly long yet did seem to drag in spots. Two absolutely epic performances by Bradley Cooper who has emerged as a brilliant director as well as Actor and Carey Mulligan who was IMO superb in her role . I found the film revealed so much about the couple and their personal and private lives but we learned very little of Bernstein and his legacy

The script was terrific and the acting was exceptional and I believe both of them will be nominated. I think. she has a good chance to win. Bradley to me will be a long shot yet some of his scenes were brilliantly acted. I read that his conducting the London Symphony Orchestra at Ely Cathedral of Mahler's second was beyond something that eve Dudamel could have done. I read that it took 6 years to get that scene done in one take. That bit of conducting could earn him the Oscar, although I still liked Killers of the the Flower Moon better.

This is a film that must be seen.On the surface it is a love story on many different levels and I have to admit that some of the scenes had me speechless.

His oldest daughter was played by the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke and when first seen as a little girl she was played by Cooper's young daughter.

The cinematography was fabulous but where I see the Oscar being won is for Make Up and costumes. In the closing scenes you see Lenny conducting Mahler's second and he was virtually indistinguishable from Cooper. The music was all composed by Bernstein except for Mahler's ll and that scene at the end revealed all of the emotion that Bernstein brought to the podium and that Cooper IMHO captured completely

Certainly a lot of controversy to this film but brilliantly executed by Cooper's performance and direction. Could Cooper win the Oscar for Best Director. Never say never.

I liked this film and highly recommend it even though we learned nothing of Bernstein's legacy

 

[Steve Williams]

The following scene took 6 years of rehearsal to be able to film it in one take

 

[Steve Williams]

and for the sake of completeness.........

 

[KeithR]

On the to do list, but haven’t heard great things. The Holdovers and Children of the Flower Moon also look good. I like Alexander Payne movies. Still hope Oppenheimer and Nolan finally win but will see if it’s truly the best.

PSA- all 3 can be streamed as of tomorrow.

 

[Steve Williams]

On the to do list, but haven’t heard great things. The Holdovers and Children of the Flower Moon also look good. I like Alexander Payne movies. Still hope Oppenheimer and Nolan finally win but will see if it’s truly the best.

PSA- all 3 can be streamed as of tomorrow.

Oppenheimer for me was a dud and overhyped film

 

[Young Skywalker]

I loved Maestro but that was to be expected since I also love the music of Gustav Mahler, particularly the Bernstein recordings, and Lenny’s own compositions.

 

[ACHiPo]

The following scene took 6 years of rehearsal to be able to film it in one take

What was this music? I wasn’t familiar with it. It was incredible.

 

[ACHiPo]

Oppenheimer for me was a dud and overhyped film

Agree on both counts. Disappointing as I believed the hype.

 

[Young Skywalker]

What was this music? I wasn’t familiar with it. It was incredible.

That is the final movement from Gustav Mahler’s second symphony. The music is a depiction of resurrection.

 

[KeithR]

Thumbs down on this one. Too artsy in the first act; writing didn’t seem like true, real dialogue. I didn’t really learn anything about Bernstein other then his personal stuff. Nice Snoopy float off his west side apartment though. Mulligan was more interesting a character. Cooper overacted for much of the movie outside the big Mahler scene. Needed a top tier director.

 

[the sound of Tao]

As a huge admirer of (much of) his work I really wanted to love this story about Leonard Bernstein… but I really didn’t. The story had potentially so much promise but in the end it came together as something of an epic fail for me. It left me kind of disconnected by its awkward theatrics and lack of subtlety and layering.

The trajectory played out as just a relentless kind over the top poorly structured scene making with fairly annoying dialogue throughout… Bradley Cooper seemed to trip over himself and I feel possibly a lot of the issue came down to the direction. Bradley Cooper I think really needed to be railed in and to become more nuanced in parts and to get some range and introspection a bit… but perhaps as a rookie director and the lead actor he seemed to not be able to see just how one note and awkward his performance became. A lot like his conducting style (and dancing for that matter) which was genuinely horrible and just lacked finesse… at the end we see the real Lenny Bernstein conduct and it was one of the few nice moments in the film and Lenny was just on another poetic plane… Cooper had Yannick Nézet-Séguin as conducting coach and poor Yannick must have cringed at every one of the faux Bernstein’s baton moves.

On top to add to it all the prosthetics yelled look at me in every shot and the relentless cigarettes all added to the breathless distractions. The whole deal just felt lacking in any poignancy or restraint. It just didn’t feel authentic at all. I do think a great director could have made an extraordinary film out of this… mores the shame.

 

[bonzo75]

As a huge admirer of (much of) his work I really wanted to love this story about Leonard Bernstein… but I really didn’t. The story had potentially so much promise but in the end it came together as something of an epic fail for me. It left me kind of disconnected by its awkward theatrics and lack of subtlety and layering.

The trajectory played out as just a relentless kind over the top poorly structured scene making with fairly annoying dialogue throughout… Bradley Cooper seemed to trip over himself and I feel possibly a lot of the issue came down to the direction. Bradley Cooper I think really needed to be railed in and to become more nuanced in parts and to get some range and introspection a bit… but perhaps as a rookie director and the lead actor he seemed to not be able to see just how one note and awkward his performance became. A lot like his conducting style (and dancing for that matter) which was genuinely horrible and just lacked finesse… at the end we see the real Lenny Bernstein conduct and it was one of the few nice moments in the film and Lenny was just on another poetic plane… Cooper had Yannick Nézet-Séguin as conducting coach and poor Yannick must have cringed at every one of the faux Bernstein’s baton moves.

On top to add to it all the prosthetics yelled look at me in every shot and the relentless cigarettes all added to the breathless distractions. The whole deal just felt lacking in any poignancy or restraint. It just didn’t feel authentic at all. I do think a great director could have made an extraordinary film out of this… mores the shame.

yeah I started it and thought it was poorly directed so gave up

 

[the sound of Tao]

yeah I started it and thought it was poorly directed so gave up

I was waiting for some salvation in the music… should just have put some music on instead.

 

[bonzo75]

I was waiting for some salvation in the music… should just have put some music on instead.

exactly. for example after I watched immortal beloved, even though the movie might not be great, I thought some of music scenes were very good i still remember them

 

[the sound of Tao]

exactly. for example after I watched immortal beloved, even though the movie might not be great, I thought some of music scenes were very good i still remember them

I do think that’s what I was waiting for, some integration across into Bernstein’s performances so the biography and story melded with what we have seen of Bernstein before to add a depth of understanding and insight into his music making. Instead it all seemed quite disconnected from the gift of work that Bernstein left for us.

 

[Golum]

yeah I started it and thought it was poorly directed so gave up

Started and managed to watch it for like 25min and gave up. Cooper acting and overall feel seemed super pretentious and could not swallow it.

 

[bonzo75]

Started and managed to watch it for like 25min and gave up. Cooper acting and overall feel seemed super pretentious and could not swallow it.

He is a horrible actor in all his movies. Mulligan is very good, but needs a better director.

 

[bonzo75]

If they decide to make a movie on Giulini, I recommend William Fichtner, who looks similar.

 

[Steve Williams]

To all you naysayers this was a movie not about his music or his legacy but rather about his relationship with his wife. We shall see when the nominations come out.

 

[R Johnson]

Perhaps it should have been titled "Lenny, Felicia and the Boys".

I've read Jamie's book "Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growing Up Bernstein", so no big surprises in the film.

As someone who enjoys his music and recordings, I was disappointed in the emphasis on his personal life instead of his musical life.

I had to close my eyes during the Mahler 2, but apparently Cooper emulated Lenny quite accurately.