‘Maestro’ Movie Review [Philadelphia Film Festival 2023]: Carey Mulligan’s Performance Is A Real Tour De Force
Photo from the Philadelphia Film Festival
From Joe Peltzer
Bradley Cooper returns to the director’s chair after 2018’s Oscar-nominated A Star is Born with an Maestro, intimate look at the life and talent of Leonard Bernstein. Carey Mulligan stars opposite Cooper as Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein in a film that traverses the decades with impressive physical transformations of the stars and even better performances.
The film spans about 30 years recounts the incredible career that the conductor and composer built, but at its core Maestro is a dynamic love story that documents the couple’s trials and tribulations. Cooper not only stars in the directs and stars in the film, but he also cowrote the busy script with Spotlight screenwriter Josh Singer, a heavily detailed account that intertwines his budding relationships (both with Felicia and other men) with his excelling career. Cooper for his part is fully transformed, not only physically but in every dimension, his speech the most noticeable from the very start. Through his unrelenting performance, he portrays in individual with infectious exuberance, even as life becomes more complicated in later years. It is rare that you see an actor get absolutely lost (in the most positive light) in a performance, but Cooper does that here with marvelous results.
Cooper is only eclipsed by the magnificent Mulligan, a powerhouse whose presence grows through the depicted years as her inner torment ferments. What begins as a supportive relationship of understanding regarding same-sex affairs that Leonard engages is becomes too much for Felicia as the divisions between lifestyles begin to disintegrate and impact the family. Mulligan exudes strength and compassion for much of the film, though convincingly shows Felicia’s emotional vulnerability before the two separate. Her impressive performance is only further cemented as one of the best of the year when Felicia falls ill later in the film; she is truly a breathtaking star.
Maestro takes a bit to get going, starting with an interview set in recent times before jumping to a black and white filming of the 1940s. I felt as though I wasn’t completely sure what the crux of the film’s tension was going to be until quite a bit into it. As the years progress, so does the coloring and styling of the film; production designer Kevin Thompson transports the audience through the times with unmistakably (and appropriately) dated set pieces accentuated by Mark Bridges’ exquisite costume design.
Where Cooper’s film really soars technically, however, is in the sound design. The moments when Bernstein steps onto the stage and conducts a live orchestra result in pulse-pounding intensity that mirrors Cooper’s all-in movements and performance. Maestro is a film where the music is a character along with the cast, tonally complimenting the film’s developments and creating stunning moments of musical prowess. As a director, Cooper continues to show a keen attention to detail that makes his works standout amongst others, a technically fortified foundation upon which his actors shine.
Maestro is a stellar second feature from Cooper and should be a vehicle for another Oscar nomination (and I’d argue win) for Mulligan. Once it gets going, the film sings an addicting tune of love, humanity, family, and talent.
Rating: 4/5
Maestro screened at the 2023 Philadelphia Film Festival. It hits limited theaters on November 22nd, 2023 before streaming on Netflix December 20th, 2023.
