You certainly can't say that Bradley Cooper lacks ambition when it comes to his directing gigs. He kicked off with 2018's A Star Is Born, and was rewarded with plenty of success, including Oscar nominations. For his follow-up, he's tackled a topic that Steven Spielberg was considering — a biopic of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein in which he plays Bernstein. The result is Maestro, which co-stars Carey Mulligan. Check out the first teaser…
Netflix, which produced the film, is describing it thus: "a towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. A love letter to life and art, Maestro at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love."
The drama spans over 30 years, and chronicles Bernstein’s fascinating career: he made his conducting debut at the New York Philharmonic aged 25 when he had to step in at short notice due to a colleague’s illness. He did so well, his star was launched the next day when his feat made the front page of The New York Times.
He was blacklisted before being cleared of being a communist just before he composed the Oscar-nominated score for On The Waterfront, and he was an activist in the civil rights movement, and outspoken on issues including ending the Vietnam War. The through line for the movie, though, is the complex story of the marriage between Bernstein and his wife, as played by Mulligan.
Maestro will be in select UK cinemas from 24 November ahead of its arrival on Netflix on 20 December. The company clearly sees this one as an awards contender.