Maestro - Bradley Cooper's Lenny
A triumph for humanbeingness
So I had the good fortune to be at the world premiere of “Maestro”, Bradley Cooper’s film about Leonard Bernstein, at the Venice Film Festival. I have an indirect personal connection to Bernstein, as my singing teacher - I dabbled in opera and German song as a student - was friends with Bernstein and she always had some great anecdotes to tell. Naturally, I would binge on Bernstein’s recordings, read interviews with him, watch documentaries and learn as much as I could - less so directly on music, as I am not a musician, but more indirectly on the artistic life and the art of living,
So you can imagine my excitement when I managed to get a ticket for the world premiere of “Maestro”!
The film made some controversial headlines about the prosthetic nose Cooper is wearing and for him not being Jewish - Bernstein’s family, who was present at the premiere, defended Cooper vocally. (And while I am in much favour of compassionate and empathetic sensitiveness for others, sometimes sensibilities seem to go a bit overboard or become a little misdirected these days?)
It takes the film less than three minutes to make you forget everything about those controversies and become immersed in this very human story, which is so very humanly told.
The film mainly focuses on the relationship of Leonard Bernstein to his wife Felicia Montealegre - and tells of Bernstein’s conductor/composer stardom and of music through that prism: It starts and finishes with the old “Lenny” referring to his wife and how much she meant to him - and shows the beginning and development of their relationship until their final moments together. Through this lens it also tells of Lenny’s relationship to music and fame, his love for his family and his relationships with men. It does all this without judging, without labeling, without scandalising, without aggrandizing the protagonists.
This is why I wouldn’t call the film a biopic and certainly not hagiographic take on Bernstein - to me, it’s a deeply felt film about the complexity of human life and human loving, and how difficult and glorious it all can be.
I’m no film critic - but to me, the film is not just a great story of music and one of music’s great artists (it is that as well), but a triumph for humanbeingness first and foremost.
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Be well,
Niels Koschoreck