Maestro

Bradley, tienes muchísimo talento, pero no te esfuerces demasiado. Entonces es vergonzoso y doloroso de verlo. (26.05.2024)

Una película biográfica sin vida, formalmente hermosa, con interpretación rendida de Bradley Cooper. Como si en la vida de Leonard Bernstein no hubiera motivos suficientes para una historia cinematográfica dramática y emocionante. Sin embargo, la película misma muestra que sí los había. Simplemente era necesario trabajar con ellos de manera diferente, construir el guion sobre otros pilares que no fueran la homosexualidad de Bernstein versus el matrimonio. Ni siquiera los aspectos de la complicada relación con su esposa son tangibles aquí. Sin un par de diálogos, ni siquiera los comprenderíamos. Porque no tenemos cómo o cuándo sentirlos. ¿Producción de Scorsese y Spielberg al mismo tiempo? ¿En serio? (08.02.2024)

"I want an Oscar! .... I want my fucking Oscar!" Yes, the cinematography is great, the music is magical (but that's not Bradley Cooper's doing), the aging make-up effects are fantastic. But what good is that when at times I felt like I was at a show where the lead actor is trying so hard he doesn't even realize that the one that was supposed to be second best is overwhelmingly outplaying him. Yes, Carey Mulligan gave Bradley's big boxer of an actor a K.O. after a few minutes, because she, unlike him, came across as authentic, natural and didn't need any great prosthetics to do it. And I tried in vain the whole time to determine what it was actually supposed to be about. For it to be about a genius in the arms of the muses who was also a bit of a dick, it's too vague and indistinct, with characters just shuffling around, coming and going and nothing coming of it. And if it was supposed to be about the magical power of music, then maybe only in the cathedral scene, otherwise the reassurance of why Bernstein was such a great composer didn't really rub off on me the whole time. But maybe that's how Cooper intended it, according to the opening credits, that "a work of art doesn't answer questions: it provokes them", and I'm just wronging him on that. But sorry Bradley, sometimes I'm entitled to a bit of superficial viewer expectation... (07.02.2024)

This film reaffirmed for me that nothing in today's Hollywood is a sure thing. Even with Scorsese and Spielberg producing and the highly successful Bradley Cooper directing, the result can still miss the mark. Despite Cooper's evident passion for Leonard Bernstein, the film ends up feeling self-indulgent, more for him than for the audience. While Bradley's performance and transformation are nearly genius, the standout moments are those where he conducts — scenes worthy of an IMAX screen. Unfortunately, the rest feels like unnecessary filler, leaving the viewer disinterested and disengaged. (27.12.2023)

Such a level of expectations could not be sustained by anyone. When you include your directorial debut among the Oscars' favorites and creative certainties and then choose a subject that is closest to your heart, a topic that has accompanied you since childhood, it is an obstacle so high that you inevitably have to stumble over it. And Bradley Cooper - did not stumble. Maestro is aesthetically refined, perfectly cast, and artistically flawless (Bernstein's gestures and sweaty passion repeatedly moved me). Musically, it is a small house, where only the tones of the main character's creation sound, but why not. The boundary between the desire to say everything with almost documentary detail and a two-hour lecture of a devoted fan can sometimes be thin and was never crossed here. And the screenplay feels somewhat familiar? After all, it is a biography. With ups, downs, life successes, and disappointments that are not easily overcome. Because life, whether personal or professional, sometimes resembles a simple melodrama too accurately. (29.12.2023)