Maestro

We see the work, the figurative (and sometimes literal) sweat that went into crafting these characters. It’s capital-M Movie Acting, and I couldn’t love it more. It moved me.

It’s exciting filmmaking, and Cooper rarely lets up.

As intense and rigorous and thoroughly impressive a work Maestro is, the triple-threat Cooper cannot quite summon the nerve, or verve, to go completely off-book.

An accomplished and classy follow-up to A Star is Born then, and one that proves Cooper is more than a one-hit wonder. But as an examination of artistic temperament, sexual voracity, and the patient women who love conductors, Maestro’s thunder has been stolen to a degree by Tár.

Cooper’s sophomore film far outshines the common run of contemporary biopics in its artful construction and attention to emotional nuance.

Spurning a fruitless bid at comprehensiveness, Cooper has conjured something as restless and as headlong as his subject.

Directed by Cooper, who also co-wrote the script with Josh Singer, the film serves up so much Sturm und Drang about the great man’s messed-up private life that it barely bothers to explore his creative genius.

Superb! See it in a movie theatre. It's hard to believe that Bradley Cooper directed and acted as LB in this film. He truly is an extraordinary talent. Cinematically excellent and his performance is captivating. I found myself smiling often at what he etched out portraying Leonard Bernstein. Nuanced and inspiring. It should win him the Oscar. Carry Mulligan is equally as brilliant. It's going to be a difficult year for Oscar voters. So many great performances. Her's is my favorite this year.

Maestro This biographical drama highlights the relationship between composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre. In Maestro, Bradley Cooper pours his all as he stars as the lead, writes, directs, and also produces. But sometimes one's all isn't enough. Bradley's virtuosity truly shines through his performance as an actor in "Maestro," presenting a portrayal that stands apart from his previous roles and undoubtedly marks a career highlight. However, while his script is anticipated to be sharp, "Maestro" falls short of achieving that expectation. The film struggles to find a balance between its lead character's romance and career, particularly evident as the second act loses focus. Nevertheless, Bradley's prowess as a director is evident as he skillfully utilizes cinematography and score to their fullest extent. Opposite Bradley, Carey Mulligan delivers a brilliant performance. However, hindered by a less-than-sharp script, she isn't able to fully showcase her talent. Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, and the remaining cast members round out the ensemble effectively. With Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Kristie Macosko Krieger also serving as producers, it's disheartening that the script of "Maestro" prevents it from reaching the brilliance it could have achieved. 6/10

Carey Mulligan gives a standout performance as a woman fully committed to her family and an unconventional relationship (no wonder she was given top billing). Bradley Cooper completely vanishes into his role. The film is otherwise a biopic of a self-absorbed creative and his intimate relationships, and disappointingly offers no insight into how he achieved greatness, or the impact that his work had.

Maestro is one of the worst films I've ever seen, and I've seen The Room. 2hrs of non-stop irrelevant gibberish dialogue, and all you learn was that Leonard Bernstein was an adulterous g@y (censored - really?) - I could've sworn he was a conductor and the composer of West Side Story, but they skipped all that. Apart from a couple of Mahler pieces the music is even dull too - it seems they didn't want to pay for the licence for the West Side Story tunes. Bradley Cooper looked and sounded like an android for the first hour, and Carey Mulligan sounds even weirder, along with a pitiful demeanour. Cooper supposedly wrote the screenplay - I'm sure he asked AI to do it - most of it's like listening to half a conversation and trying to work out what's even being talked about. Shocking waste of a life story and music - this could've been about any closeted old man. Instead of being about Bernstein's life in music we're given the story of his almost non-existent relationship with his wife, and even that's not fleshed out. I don't actually know where the 129 minutes went, other than all that continually pointless dialogue, which isn't insightful, it's invariably just small talk, and some even sounds ad-libbed. 3/10 - purely for the quality of production. Watch Immortal Beloved (1994) instead - which has a great story, far greater acting, and far greater music.

Maestro somehow manages to be both muted and histrionic. A dubious effort by a wannabe auteur, whose self-directed performance amounts to little more than impersonation.