Maestro

• Available: Netflix

• Director: Bradley Cooper
• Writers: Bradley Cooper, Josh Singer

Maestro looks at the life of U.S. composer, musician and conductor Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper). More specifically it focuses on his long time marriage and realtionship with Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) spanning over 30 years. It examines the complexity of the realtionship caused by their work, Bernstein’s sexuality and ultimately health.

This is another in a recent series of biographical dramas that didn’t really hit the spot for me. How much it captures of Bernstein, I don’t know enough about him to be sure, but then that’s part of the problem, I never really felt that I got to know enough about him to care about this dramatised version of him.

Bernstein was clearly talented and had a complex life, with fluid sexuality and an inner battle between composer and conductor, but little of that comes through. It is a more successful with the realtionship with Felicia and while she fully understands the man that he is, over time it takes its toll, but even that never engaged me enough to be fully absorbed by it. The film is at its best as it deals with the final months of Felicia’s life as she is ravaged by illness, it shows, for all its complexity a touching and loving relationship.

The film does look good, especially its first part shot in black and white with a 50’s drama feel, that moves through his life, at times, like a musical. The music of course works well with Bernstein’s back catalogue on show. And Cooper and Mulligan are solid in the two main roles, but it is only these two with no other characters given any depth.

It also feels long and slow as it meanders between parts of his story that are never really clear as to how important they are.

Meastro was a bit of a disappointment. I didn’t feel I learned much about Bernstein’s life and realtionships or that I needed to know more and if you’re making a biographical drama that is the minimum you’d hope it did. While it had its moments overall it was rather flat.