It has been a great week for “Maestro” already—and it is only Wednesday. The film earned four Golden Globe nominations from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on Monday morning. These include Best Director; Best Motion Picture, Drama; Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama; and Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama.
Congratulations are thus in order for Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, and everyone who brought “Maestro” to life, including local Berkshire denizens who appear in the film as extras. And who can thank Jamie, Alexander, and Nina enough for sharing their parents’ story with the whole world?
I left Nantucket Friday afternoon and beelined to Brookline. “Maestro” was everything I wanted it to be and more. From the very energetic opening scene to the truly sad final one, “Maestro” packs a lot in. Of course it is a love story—with tons of music.
As biopics go, this one is exceptional. For starters, Cooper and Mulligan achieve remarkable physical resemblances to Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre. This is no accident. Cooper clearly set out to play the leading role years ago, so he effectively cast himself. But finding the right Felicia was just as critical. In many ways, “Maestro” is actually more about her.
In fact, all along, Cooper felt the film would focus on Felicia and Lenny’s relationship with each other. His sister Shirley (played effortlessly by Sarah Silverman) introduced them at a party. At least onscreen, it sure looked like love at first sight.
But life is more improv than dress rehearsal, more ad lib than script. So when Felicia understood Lenny’s same-sex interests, she still agreed to marry him with the caveat that he not publicly embarrass her. Was it an open marriage? Was he gay? And who cares anyway?
As embodied by Carey Mulligan, Felicia exhibits such elegant composure, conducting her own life as faithfully as she knows how. To me, the fact that she also converted to her husband’s Judaism holds greater interest than who was sleeping with whom. Theirs was an activist, artistic, cultural, familial, intellectual, romantic relationship. And love never dies.
Truly, Lenny and Felicia had the deepest faith in each other. They also produced three beautiful children and functioned incredibly well as a family, despite the odds. Like her husband, Felicia had a very successful career as well. She starred in many theatrical and television roles, and her Broadway appearances spanned three decades.
It wasn’t until Felicia’s lung cancer diagnosis, however, that the Bernsteins’ marriage faced its ultimate crisis. “Maestro” deals with this so tenderly. And Mulligan palpably exudes Felicia’s complicated heartbreak, while Cooper reveals Lenny’s acute grief and deep regret.
Buoyed by the sexual freedom of gay liberation in post-Stonewall New York, Bernstein also traveled constantly and found admirers across the globe. In the end, however, his greatest love was the woman he married: Felicia Montealegre.
A bonus feature for Berkshire audiences and music fans everywhere is the gorgeous cinematography from Tanglewood. It practically brought tears to my eyes, given my love of that lawn, those hills, that shed, the Stockbridge Bowl.
In addition, the subtle way in which “Maestro” shifts from black and white to neutral tones and finally to color may remind you of “Pleasantville.” And my favorite scene involves Snoopy floating by a window during a parade.
In closing, the four Golden Globe nominations “Maestro” snagged this week augur well for the Oscars. Cooper and Mulligan both give unforgettable performances that help us appreciate anew two fascinating people most of us have never met. This is the beauty of a brilliant biopic!
“Maestro” is playing at the Triplex in Great Barrington. For extra credit, pair this film with “American Symphony,” now on Netflix. It is such a great time to be alive—during this golden age of biopic and documentary film!
