Movie Reviews from the Dark

Greetings again from the darkness. A creative genius must deal with the constant demands, both internal and external, of new and better projects. That last one was great, now what’s next? The art is never enough, and it’s never done. As if that pressure to create is not enough, there is also the personal side. A connection is presumed by fans and customers and critics. We like your art, so we feel like we know you. How does one even find their true self, much less hold on to it, while being adored and showered with accolades? Well, many don’t, and the aftermath is usually not pretty.

Bradley Cooper has received nine previous Oscar nominations in various categories: Actor, Supporting Actor, Producer, and Writer (many from A STAR IS BORN, 2018). He has yet to win, but with this latest (co-written with Josh Singer, an Oscar winner for SPOTLIGHT), Cooper is likely to nab multiple nominations yet again. “Oscar bait” was how a movie like this would have once been described, simply because it’s well made and appeals to a wide audience. While the description seems a bit unfair, this film is in fact, well made and appeals to a wide audience. On top of that, the two lead performances are both noteworthy. Cooper stars as Leonard Bernstein, and Carey Mulligan co-stars Felicia Montealegre, the actress Bernstein married.

Leonard Bernstein was a generational talent as a world-renowned conductor, He was also a bi-sexual philanderer who felt he never received due credit for his compositions. Felicia was a long-loyal and long-sacrificing spouse who raised their kids and supported her enigmatic husband, who frequently used his musical genius as an escape clause. The film spans the 1940’s, when Bernstein made his accidental (no rehearsal) debut as Assistant Conductor filling in for the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, to the 1980’s when Bernstein is giving an interview at his Fairfield, Connecticut estate and discussing how he misses Felicia.

This is clearly a labor of love for Cooper as director-star-writer-producer, and yet it’s Mulligan who has the most complex role … one she excels in. Certainly, Cooper shines in a tender moment scene with daughter Jamie (Maya Hawke) where he lies about the rumors she’s heard, and he relishes the highlight of reenacting the London Symphony Orchestra at Ely Cathedral in 1976 for Mahler’s second symphony. The latter is a scene itself worthy of a theater picket price for the picture and sound. Despite the flamboyant nature of Lenny, it’s Mulligan who is the heart of this story, and she excels in every scene … especially the Thanksgiving Day argument as Snoopy floats by their Central Park apartment window.

A third co-star here would be cigarettes, which seem to fill the screen with smoke regardless of the time period or location. Seriously, the supporting cast includes Matt Bomer and Sarah Silverman, and Bernstein’s compositions are heard throughout the film, including “West Side Story” in the most ominous moment. A particularly creative scene occurs as Bernstein becomes part of the “On the Town” sequence on stage, and we also see Lenny and Felicia interviewed on television by Edward R Murrow.

This is Cooper’s second outing with almost complete control of the project, and it’s a technical masterpiece from a movie-making perspective. If it falls a bit short on the emotional connectivity scale, that’s likely due to the true story of Lenny and Felicia. The cinematography from Matthew Libatique is gorgeous (both black & white and color), and the costumes from two-time Oscar winner Mark Bridges and prosthetics/makeup by two-time Oscar winner Kazu Hiro add to the smooth transitions from era to era. Rather than a traditional biopic, this is more a relationship story – one between an egotistical, absurdly talented man-child, and the loyal, selfless woman who allowed him to shine, even as she stood frustrated in shadow.

WATCH THE TRAILER