Maestro (2023)

Direction: Bradley Cooper
Country: USA

Directed by and starring Bradley Cooper, Maestro is a well-crafted representation of the enduring marriage between iconic conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein and his actress wife Felicia Montealegre. The film avoids messiness in its timeline, presenting an honest and mature biopic that excels on all fronts.

The story, spanning 30 years, starts with a prologue where Bernstein is filmed and interviewed at home, but the story quickly winds back to his conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall and his rapid rise to fame in 1943. Then, it focuses on the couple and how they changed over the years as he embraces the absolute freedom of the artist, sometimes recklessly. Despite betrayals and jealousy, their love proves to be resilient.

Cooper, who co-wrote with Josh Singer (Spotlight, 2015; First Man, 2018), not only delivers his best directorial work - I wasn’t particularly a fan of A Star is Born (2018) - but also his best performance, creating an extremely empathetic atmosphere that spans a wide range of emotions. Carey Mulligan’s earnest performance, the beauty of black-and-white and pastel-colored visuals by Darren Aronofsky’s regular cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, and the immaculate production, involving talents like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, contribute to the film's richness and tonal consistency. Maestro stands as a testament to Cooper's directorial and acting prowess.

A Star Is Born (2018)

Directed by Bradley Cooper
Country: USA

Actor Bradley Cooper (“Silver Linings Playbook”, “American Hustle”) makes his directorial debut with “A Star is Born”, a 21st-century remake of the 1937 classic of the same name directed by William A. Wellman. He co-stars alongside pop star Lady Gaga in her first theatrical appearance. With a score composed by Gaga and Willie Nelson’s son, Lukas Nelson, Cooper attempts to successfully combine the power of music with the sharp cinematography of Matthew Libatique (Darren Aronofsky’s first choice), as well as the fluctuations of romance with the complications of personal/professional life.

Cooper is Jackson Maine, an alcoholic country-rock star who finds in nightclub-singer Ally (Gaga) a reliable partner in music and life, giving her the opportunity to make the leap to international fame and become a celebrity. However, his alcoholism doesn’t make things easy for her, becoming worse after she gets her first musical contract. From this point on, their relationship becomes arduous as Ally steps up toward stardom whereas Jackson keeps declining.

This romantic if tragic musical drama achieves its climax when Ally is publicly embarrassed by Jackson’s behavior at the Grammy awards.

Gaga’s last song brings some emotion, which could never compensate for the absence of it during the rest of the film. Her performance was solid enough, while Cooper’s bloodshot eyes and general look are natural from a heavy drinker. However, the film didn’t touch me in the heart, presenting more inept than satisfactory moments, both drama and music-wise.