A very popular actor, Bradley Cooper 's career took a turn for the better in 2018, after he directed A Star is Born, his first film as a director. Five years later, the actor is back behind the camera with Maestro, which focuses on the couple formed by composer Leonard Bernstein and actress Felicia Montealegre. The film is due on Netflix on December 20.
And to embody this couple, little-known in France, Bradley Cooper gives himself heart and soul to the role of Bernstein, while Carey Mulligan plays a superbly graceful and touching Felicia. The duo's performance is the most striking aspect of the film, but that's not all. Bradley Cooper avoids the pitfall of a Wikipedia entry, and if you're here to learn about the life of Bernstein, best known for composing the music for West Side Story, you've come to the wrong place. Yes, it's the couple formed by the composer and the actress that interests the filmmaker. Their relationship, undermined by Bernstein's homosexual love affair, their respective art, which consumes their lives, and their love, as pure as it is impossible.
Also noteworthy is the impressive work done on the make-up, and in particular the aging of the protagonists. The story focuses on the characters' entire lives, and there's something mesmerizing and striking about Bradley Cooper's aged face. His performance is insane, and we've rarely seen the actor let go in such a way. A terrific concert sequence in a church sticks in the mind for days after viewing.
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