Early scenes from their lives together, and apart, are shot in black and white scenes later in the chronology appear in color. Bernstein’s first date with the Costa Rican-Chilean Montealegre, a recent New York arrival, is scored to the 1944 Bernstein “Fancy Free” ballet music, the direct inspiration for the Broadway musical “On the Town.” It’s a whirlwind passage on screen, halfway to a musical-theater dream ballet (at one point Cooper as Bernstein becomes one of the three sailors on leave). “Maestro” darts and hops around, bracingly it’s a little like flipping through a big, stylish scrapbook, more or less but not strictly in chronological order. The man in Bernstein’s bed at the time is one of many affairs to come. Bernstein takes over, no rehearsal, huge success. The Carnegie Hall concert must go on, that night. He gets a phone call: Guest conductor Bruno Walter has the flu and can’t make it. Bernstein, then 25, is assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic and itching for more. After a prologue, Cooper’s screenplay, written with Josh Singer (”Spotlight,” “First Man”), begins in 1943, in a bed. ![]() Any and all parts of his tumult of a life make for juicy cinematic exploration.Ĭooper’s second feature as director, following the hit 2018 remake of “A Star is Born,” focuses on Bernstein’s second marriage, in 1951, to actress Felicia Montealegre, played by top-billed Carey Mulligan. ![]() His eternally debated standing as the first 20th-century American superstar conductor, his restless bisexual affairs, his marriages and children … we could go on, and certainly Bernstein did, until his death at 72 in 1990. Bernstein’s legacy remains huge and vital, thanks (for starters) to “On the Town,” “Candide” (the overture alone, taken at the preferable tempo, in the key of wheeee!, is reason enough to rejoice) and “West Side Story.”īernstein, known to his friends as Lenny, raced through the time he had. Millions crave Bernstein’s music, and it’s all over the movie, often to striking effect. 20.įor a movie made with full, scrutinizing consent of the Leonard Bernstein estate and surviving family members, “Maestro” is considerably more interesting, nuanced and engaging than the usual squaresville biopic. The film is now in limited theatrical release, including the Main Cinema in Minneapolis, with the Netflix streaming premiere arriving Dec. ![]() It’s stupid, certainly in the case of “Maestro,” the new film from director, co-writer, producer and star Bradley Cooper. Killing its own movies’ theatrical prospects prior to streaming, however, isn’t it.
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