This movie is brilliant in every way except for the story which frankly was quite boring even for someone who has an appreciation for classical music and some musical scores. There's no doubt Bernstein was a creative genius of his time but his bisexual lifestyle and the relationship with his wife as controversial as it would have been at the time just doesn't make for an interesting 2 hours of cinema unfortunately. The acting, cinematography and directing here is absolute top tier and I spent a lot of the movie reminding myself that Bradley Cooper made this movie which is incredible to me having followed him since his turn as supporting character Will Tippin in the TV show Alias. Oscars will no doubt be dished out in abundance come March especially for the acting on display however I would hope the best picture and screenplay go to other movies (probably Oppenheimer) as it was a challenging 2 hours. That said this is exactly the sort of movie that the Oscars and critics fawn over and there is a history of movies like this winning over better movies e.g. English Patient (1997) for a masterclass in film production this is up there but it's not one many will return to for entertainment. 5 Stars.
Review of Maestro
