Biopic about the American composer Leonard Bernstein, “Maestro” has been available on Netflix since Wednesday, December 20. Is this film worth watching? Our review.
Even before it was put online on Netflix, Maestro was a film closely watched by moviegoers. Because of its genre (a biopic), its subject (the brilliant conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein and his relationship with his wife Felicia Montealegre) and a director-actor in front of and behind the camera (Bradley Cooper sometimes unrecognizable), this film was already mentioned in conversations as a potential Oscar contender. If we do not yet know which films will compete for the famous statuette, Maestro is already nominated 4 times for the Golden Globes.
Before knowing the fate of Maestro at the Oscars, the public can already form their own opinion since the feature film has been available since December 20 on Netflix. If, on paper, the film has all the qualities to be a success, is it really worth a watch?
Among the biopics, Maestro aim for the top of the basket. We know that Leonard Bernstein is an immense conductor and the composer of one of the greatest musicals on Broadway, West Side Story. With this postulate in mind, Bradley Cooper made a drastic choice: the musician’s works will only punctuate his film, but it will be his intimate portrait, his ambivalences and his flaws which will be at the heart of his biopic.
Always with one figure in his sights: his wife, the actress Felicia Montealegre. Netflix subscribers will therefore discover 30 years of their lives, from their joys to their breakups, including reconciliations and dramas, to draw the portraits of these two artists apart.
Actors at the top
With such a subject, this biopic would not hold up without a solid performance from its two performers. And whether it’s Bradley Cooper (who played Leonard Bernstein) or Carrey Mulligan (who plays Felicia Montealegre), the two actors carry on their shoulders Maestro with brio.
Not only is their acting solid, but their couple works wonderfully on screen. Carey Mulligan, above all, confirms her immense talent and establishes herself with nuance and finesse as the true star of the film. Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Dramashe absolutely would not steal the award if she ever won it next January.
Maestro above all confirms that Bradley Cooper is far from just a pretty face but he is also a very talented. The feature film is full of splendid shots and intense staging that is eye-catching.
But as ambitious and solid as this biopic may be, it still lacks that little something to transform good performances into a great film. We can cite heaviness, we can cite lengths, but Maestro Above all, it lacks the emotion that makes great biopics (and it’s not for lack of trying, especially at the end). Too bad, but not serious, because if there is only one (new) film to see in streaming for these Christmas holidays, it is certainly Maestro.