Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

Bradley Cooper's Maestro

I read a review criticizing it because we didn’t learn enough about the main subjects. And while I’d love to learn more about their personal and professional histories, I thought the movie was well done and moving.
 
The scene in the cathedral with Bradley Cooper conducting (what I think was) Bernstein's Mass...how extraordinary. He directed, co-wrote, produced and starred in the leading role, never mind his conducting skills!
 
Last edited:
I left feeling a little bit empty, but maybe I had the wrong expectations. For me, I wanted to know how the man grew musically from young to old? What did he go through to develop such a prodigious talent? What mistakes did he make that he learned from and built upon? I felt like the movie mostly stated that he was a genius and then focused on his sexuality and infidelity. I would have liked to see more in-depth musical growth. That to me, is what makes him interesting. So for me personally, it felt like a missed opportunity even though I simultaneously marveled at the performances and the production.
 
mbishop said:
I left feeling a little bit empty, but maybe I had the wrong expectations. For me, I wanted to know how the man grew musically from young to old? What did he go through to develop such a prodigious talent? What mistakes did he make that he learned from and built upon? I felt like the movie mostly stated that he was a genius and then focused on his sexuality and infidelity. I would have liked to see more in-depth musical growth. That to me, is what makes him interesting. So for me personally, it felt like a missed opportunity even though I simultaneously marveled at the performances and the production.
Click to expand...
I made it about 35 minutes in before I realized it was not going to be a movie about his musical life (other than tangentially to his romantic life). I guess I am not a romantic at heart as I quickly lost interest and turned it off.
 
mbishop said:
I left feeling a little bit empty, but maybe I had the wrong expectations. For me, I wanted to know how the man grew musically from young to old? What did he go through to develop such a prodigious talent? What mistakes did he make that he learned from and built upon? I felt like the movie mostly stated that he was a genius and then focused on his sexuality and infidelity. I would have liked to see more in-depth musical growth. That to me, is what makes him interesting. So for me personally, it felt like a missed opportunity even though I simultaneously marveled at the performances and the production.
Click to expand...
It’s interesting how expectations affect our perceptions. I think because I read the negative review before seeing the film, I ended up enjoying it likely more than if I hadn’t seen the review.

I would definitely say the movie is primarily a love story.
 
mbishop said:
I left feeling a little bit empty, but maybe I had the wrong expectations. For me, I wanted to know how the man grew musically from young to old? What did he go through to develop such a prodigious talent? What mistakes did he make that he learned from and built upon? I felt like the movie mostly stated that he was a genius and then focused on his sexuality and infidelity. I would have liked to see more in-depth musical growth. That to me, is what makes him interesting. So for me personally, it felt like a missed opportunity even though I simultaneously marveled at the performances and the production.
Click to expand...
Definitely understand what you are saying. I guess I knew beforehand it wasn’t going to deliver on that front and I thought it was going to be a low life swipe at him around his sexuality. But instead what I found was gloriously musical film making around a beautiful and very real feeling love story.

I guess @patrick76 is right about expectations!

The last line …”Any questions?”. .. very clever.
 
pinki said:
Definitely understand what you are saying. I guess I knew beforehand it wasn’t going to deliver on that front and I thought it was going to be a low life swipe at him around his sexuality. But instead what I found was gloriously musical film making around a beautiful and very real feeling love story.

I guess @patrick76 is right about expectations!

The last line …”Any questions?”. .. very clever.
Click to expand...
I haven’t seen it yet but “any questions?” Comes from the last like in Candide which is a brilliant score! I’m excited to see the film.
 
I watched it the other day and must admit I have mixed feelings. It felt at times as if things were rushing a little too fast in order to fit in the chronological order of events, but at the same time there was definitely a fine insight into Berstein's character delivered in the film, both into his brilliance and some of his inner demons.

But as far as his art and his technique is concerned, I found this 2 hour DVD absolutely incredible. Insight on top of insight as far as phrasing and handling dynamics is concerned, especially when looking at the score and this side by side:



For native speakers, how do you find his German (mixed with Italian, it seems to me)?
 
Last edited:
I felt let down myself when I saw it...talk about the expectations game...

Yet just yesterday it came up on my Netflix feed and I felt compelled to watch it again. My experience the 2nd time around was much different. I found myself moved in a hundred different ways that I wasn't the first time. The emotion, the tragedy, and the music just hit me so strongly.

This has happened often enough in the past that I'm now beginning to distrust my moviewatching skills!
 
mbishop said:
I left feeling a little bit empty, but maybe I had the wrong expectations. For me, I wanted to know how the man grew musically from young to old?
Click to expand...
That isn't what it was about. No reason it should be. We can find all that stuff out easily enough. This was about two people and the bond they shared despite the complexity of their personalities. I personally find "origin story" biographies boring and often woefully inaccurate.
 
Here’s one reason why the film should have been more about Bernstein the musician: it was named Maestro.

Don‘t get me wrong. I thought it was a good film as is, but it‘s reasonable to have expected something different.

Bernstein was one of the top music figures of the 20th century, and the movie gave us very little of what made him great. Sadly, last year’s film, Tár, about a fictional conductor covered more interesting musical subjects.

That said, as a movie that focused on Bernstein’s personal life, it was done well.

Best,

Geoff
 
Geoff Grace said:
Here’s one reason why the film should have been more about Bernstein the musician: it was named Maestro.

Don‘t get me wrong. I thought it was a good film as is, but it‘s reasonable to have expected something different.
Click to expand...
It is reasonable to have expected something different based on the title. But perhaps the term "maestro" has a broader meaning in this case and was used with some intended irony. He was not a maestro in his personal life.
 
youngpokie said:
. . .But as far as his art and his technique is concerned, I found this 2 hour DVD absolutely incredible. Insight on top of insight as far as phrasing and handling dynamics is concerned, especially when looking at the score and this side by side:

Click to expand...

Thanks for this
~ 38:00 --"It's not a 'trance'; it's a kind of flight. You're kind of lost in the music, and if you're not, it can't be a good performance"

The maestro speaking directly to all artists (musicians, actors, singers, conductors, et al.). One might well take this to heed
 
Just saw the movie and blown away by it. The emotions, the acting, the scene in the cathedral made me even have the hair on my legs rising. Two hours since I watched it and can't think about anything else. I'm so impressed. Acting in it and directing it at the same time, this is just amazing.
 
I watched this about a week or so ago. I thought it was pretty good.

I think credit should be given in the area of what is a really big challenge for a biographical movie that includes some well known person doing what they did in professional life, who also happens to be someone who did what they did, in public, within the living memory of many people. That's a tough one to not really turn into an embarrassing mess.

There was a good example in a much different realm, not so long ago. I happen to be an old guy who also has a nearly lifelong interest in motorsports, and so when Ron Howard made the movie "Rush", focused on the real live people James Hunt and Niki Lauda and their competition in the 1976 Formula 1 driver's championship, this was a story and a setting I already knew pretty well in quite extensive detail. That movie had some flaws that would be recognized by many people, but overall went to great lengths to try to get it right, and they did it very well, to the extent that the minor detail flaws could be overlooked and forgiven.

In "Maestro", there could have been some really awful stuff when it came to the musical activity, like Bradley Cooper really doing conducting of an orchestra for realz, and they pulled it off and made it work. Credit and respect. They could have really fucked it up. Instead, it was great.

I did think it was missing a lot in that it really did not dive deep into his musical life's work, but the fact is, in telling anyone's life story, you can only cover so much in a normal feature length movie, and they focused on his personal life. There simply has to be so much omitted by practical reality.

I thought it was very well done, a good movie deserving respect, worth viewing. I understand disappointment in some people wanting a good review of Bernstein's musical career, but that's not what this is. Doing that would be something for a different format, like a multi-part series spread out in one hour episodes or something.

JLE
 
I really enjoyed the filmmaking. Gorgeous sets, cinematography, and acting. It didn't play like a sensationalized and literal biopic, but rather more like a observational character study with a vintage docu-feel. I enjoyed the way the dialogue felt natural and improvised. I think most people are expecting a traditional biopic style narrative but for me this was refreshingly different. I believe it was tastefully and artfully executed and did Lenny justice.

I was also impressed by the authenticity to music itself - performance, writing, the process. There were a few wide shots where Cooper was actually playing piano with competence. Close-ups of scores were real. Other moments with performers were real. Whereas most films have an actor fake playing which looks awful, or they do that thing where it intercuts close-ups of the actor's passionate expressions with a stand-in's hands, paying no attention to the music when editing so even the playing is out of sync. So I appreciated seeing a Hollywood-level movie about music which bothered to portray things with accuracy and attention to detail.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom