Venice Film Festival
Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan wow in “Maestro”
US actor Bradley Cooper transforms into the legendary conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein in the film “Maestro”. photo
© Evan Agostini/Invision/dpa
In “Maestro” US director and actor Bradley Cooper tells the story of the famous composer Leonard Bernstein. The film was well received at its premiere in Venice.
In the film “Maestro” about the life of the composer Leonard Bernstein, the US actors inspire Bradley Cooper (48) and Carey Mulligan (38) as lovers. The drama received a long round of applause after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday night.
The Netflix-produced film, which Cooper also directed, chronicles the marriage between Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) and his wife, Felicia Montealegre Bernstein (1922-1978). The two shared their love of music and theatre. At the same time, they had conflicts resulting from Bernstein’s extramarital affairs with men.
“As authentic as possible”
The couple’s children were involved in the filming process. Bernstein’s daughter Jamie described the film in Venice as “as authentic as can be”. Cooper and the rest of the cast did not travel to Venice because of the Hollywood strike.
“Maestro” also tells of Bernstein’s career as a composer, conductor, pianist and music teacher, among others with the New York Philharmonic, with a lot of background music from his work. The drama is a loving tribute to Bernstein’s music, which includes the musical ‘West Side Story.’ Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg are among the producers.
irritation in advance
In the run-up, there had been irritation in some places because Cooper embodied the Jewish composer with a prosthesis that enlarged his nose. Some people saw this as serving Jewish stereotypes. The BBC quoted a spokesman for the British non-governmental organization Campaign Against Antisemitism as saying that it was “amazing that nobody thought twice about putting a big nose on a non-Jewish actor playing a Jew.”
The Bernstein family issued a statement defending Cooper and the film. “It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice big nose. Bradley opted for makeup to enhance his likeness and we have absolutely no problem with that.”
Asked about the controversy, the film’s makeup artist, Kazu Hiro, said in Venice on Saturday that he was sorry for hurting some people’s feelings. “My goal and Bradley’s was to portray Lenny (Bernstein) as authentically as possible. Lenny had a really iconic look that everyone knows – there are so many pictures of him because he’s so photogenic – he was a great person and has inspires so many people, so we wanted to respect his looks as well.”