Maestro
Early on, we are supplied with a quotation from Leonard Bernstein: “A work of art does not answer questions. It provokes them, and its essential meaning is in the tension between the contradictory answers.” These words seem intended partly as an epigraph for the movie itself, but play-acting the basic facts of these lives so that members of the audience can variously “make up their own minds” about how to view or judge the protagonists does not amount to provoking questions, and does not give rise to a tension of contradictions – at least not in the sense I take Bernstein as suggesting. Cooper would have been better off rewriting and reimagining his beloved project as a prequel to TÁR (2022).
What is Cooper trying to do here? To say something about Bernstein’s sexuality and the sacrifices required of his spouse? Those are undoubtedly the most obvious themes in this rather meandering parade of scenes, yet the filmmakers are fundamentally evasive about just these questions, as both Brody and White observe (yet another case where these two seemingly very different critics, especially politically, turn out to be the two that most clearly see beyond the conformism of contemporary reviewers). The turgid and stereotypical cancer scenes that fill the last part of the movie confirm what the viewer has by that point long suspected: that the real intention is to give the two main actors an opportunity to “Act”, and that this is why the film has been concocted essentially as medium-grade soap. It’s true that the director-star has expended all kinds of other effort in the fashioning of the final product, but, again, the result may be in some respects impressive, but only superficially so, and more than anything comes across as simply a display of that effort itself (many would say: in search of awards). As a final observation, not necessarily damning, at certain key moments when emotion needed amplification, it seems notable that the director has chosen to shift the musical accompaniment from Bernstein to Mahler.
What is Cooper trying to do here? To say something about Bernstein’s sexuality and the sacrifices required of his spouse? Those are undoubtedly the most obvious themes in this rather meandering parade of scenes, yet the filmmakers are fundamentally evasive about just these questions, as both Brody and White observe (yet another case where these two seemingly very different critics, especially politically, turn out to be the two that most clearly see beyond the conformism of contemporary reviewers). The turgid and stereotypical cancer scenes that fill the last part of the movie confirm what the viewer has by that point long suspected: that the real intention is to give the two main actors an opportunity to “Act”, and that this is why the film has been concocted essentially as medium-grade soap. It’s true that the director-star has expended all kinds of other effort in the fashioning of the final product, but, again, the result may be in some respects impressive, but only superficially so, and more than anything comes across as simply a display of that effort itself (many would say: in search of awards). As a final observation, not necessarily damning, at certain key moments when emotion needed amplification, it seems notable that the director has chosen to shift the musical accompaniment from Bernstein to Mahler.
Mini Review: What is Cooper trying to do here? Say something about Bernstein’s sexuality and the sacrifices required of his spouse? Those are undoubtedly the most obvious themes, yet the filmmakers are fundamentally evasive about just these questions. The cancer scenes that fill the last part confirm what the viewer has by that point long suspected: that the real point is to give the two main actors an opportunity to “Act”, and that this is why the film has been concocted essentially as medium-grade soap.
More Reviews of Maestro
Watch the Trailer