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What is a marriage? A question that is far from simple and although many of us engage in such life changing activity finding a perfectly secure marriage is near impossible. It is also a subject that has been dissected in film too many times to count. Bradley Cooper’s MAESTRO is not just a scene from a marriage it is a relationship put on the orchestra stage to perform and be exposed and critiqued from every angle. Not to mention a masterful look at a genius artist and how (and if) larger than life humans can ever find happiness in marriage and love. This even more so when your partner is a strong willed person themselves who chooses to make sacrifices that unfortunately come back to bite them due to one’s willingness and compassion being taken advantage of. Leonard Bernstein may be the catalyst that kicks off MAESTRO but it is his marriage to Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) and her strength that often exceeds far beyond any musical talent from Bernstein. Cooper in his second directorial outing (after 2018’s A Star Is Born) proves once again his intricate execution as he takes on a quadruple threat of directing, writing, acting and producing MAESTRO. His hands and quick growing distinct style all over this film, and much like the great maestro himself knows where he wants everything to land. Unlike Bernstein, Cooper never ignores his lead co-star and in doing so creates an operatic chess match that brings back old Hollywood style filmmaking, grand cinematic moments of levity and above all else a story of a marriage too large to contain but one that needed grounding.

Bernstein feels at a loss of words just he can’t help but ramble bringing the attention to himself. An old man (with Cooper decked in prosthetics) he is not so much reflecting on his life but rather aware that his greatest love and regret still lives with him. As he stares into the crowd of documentary filmmakers there to record his later years there is a sadness and boredom that is apparent from the empty seats in his house which Felicia once inhabited. MAESTRO is a peculiar biopic, it knows so many are already aware of Bernstein’s best known success, and yet the film still chooses to bring us back to retell most of his story. But fret not this is not a birth to life retelling but rather a re-visit to momentary times some known and some intimate still deserve a second look and perspective. Framing his first half of the film in black and white, Cooper chooses to start off with that now legendary story of Bernstein, an assistant conductor, getting called down to lead the New York Philharmonic. Cooper at this point as Bernstein is a scrawny full of life but lacking experience young man who leaps out of his male lovers bed and is immediately ready to perform. No rehearsal given and none needed. MAESTRO is produced by Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese (both who attempted their own versions before moving on) and Cooper’s education from these two maestros themselves is apparent but far from obnoxious. Cooper and DP Matthew Libatique wastes little time as they move Lenny from one room to the next, each new room turning into a completely different building and scene. It’s a pleasant way in saying “we have a lot of ground to cover” but instead of rushing through their choices are more pleasant visually as it’s quick pace fits well into Bernstein’s often fractured way of thinking. Here is a man that could perform a ballad at any moment while still having his mind wander in five different directions.

One of these directions leads him to meeting Felecia Montealegre and while the chemistry is instantly there so is the playful combative dialogue that Felicia knows love his hard work, Leonard believes it comes naturally. Both can be right but Cooper clearly also knows one isn’t quite correct. Mulligan as Felicia is a powerhouse of not just a tough woman, but one who has she grows closer to Leonard chooses to sacrifice more and more often to her disappointment. Bernstein never knew how to fully describe himself (scholars decades after his passing refer to him as bisexual) and Cooper along with a script from Josh Singer (and co-written by Cooper) play into Bernstein’s sexuality in ways that feel not strictly betrayal to Felicia but an old Hollywood forbidden love affair with added partners. In fact most of MAESTRO (especially its first half) feels like such an old Hollywood film you can practically see the sound stage doors surrounding the scenes. Cooper clearly adores this era as one scene in particular recreating Bernstein’s “Fancy Free” in a dreamlike state does everything La La Land seldomly accomplished in just five minutes.

But even as MAESTRO dances along displaying the grand artistic abilities of both its subject and filmmakers it still never moves away from the union of two souls who come towards love from very different paths. Even as Leonard and Felicia playful try to synchronize and telepathically pass a number between one another there isn’t a great sense of fusion between them. The love is there but Cooper and Mulligan are such strong performers together that in their natural chemistry they are able to create a distance that will forever keep these two from being on the same level with one another. Felicia is far from Leonard’s inferior and Mulligan may play quiet early on but the film grows in excitement (and misery) as she eventually proclaims her feelings in a tone louder than anything Bernstein could conduct.

MAESTRO may always have its eyes set on two different aspects of Bernstein’s life; his music and marriage, but the film never feels like two halves battling it out. It instead saves its more confrontational moments for its two leads allowing both the music and marriage to blend into one. Since this isn’t the 400 page Bernstein biopic don’t expect to hear the usual Rhapsody in Blue or even get to see him work on “West Side Story,” no MAESTRO is far less interested in that as it is bringing us into the comfort of the Bernstein’s home in times like their Thanksgiving dinner that never occurred due to a remarkably intense fight set to the backdrop of giant Macy’s Day Parade balloons passing right outside their window. It’s a comical moment (the film is full of them) but it’s another reminder (and great inclusion of the parade) that a broken marriage doesn’t stop for the big moments but rather ruins them. As the Bernstein’s kids get older (the eldest daughter now portrayed by Maya Hawke) moments that were believed to be best kept in the shadows will now define the rest of their relationship as father and child.

Even with the purposeful ignorance of some of Bernstein’s most well known musical moments the film still delivers on that end. Just when you start to itch for a truly profound melody Cooper delivers by giving a crowned prolonged moment involving Bernstein conducting at the Ely Cathedral in London. The scene actually shot on the real location displays Cooper as a performer bleeding every drop into this role as the scene allows us for a moment to forget all the heartache he has brought onto himself and Felicia. The moment however as lovely it is comes with a sour taste and the notion of how we often let genius artist slide by from their mistakes and eventually give them their flowers. MAESTRO does not ask so much can we separate the art from the artist (leave that to Lydia Tár) but it still lives in the realm of how do acknowledge the destruction one conductor caused while their companion continues to sacrifice in ways that exist long after a failed marriage. MAESTRO is also concerned not just on a failed marriage but on the years that happen when redemption is given a chance due to devastating circumstances. Cooper a father himself is clearly connecting to any man who has lost time due to their own arrogance and if you can ever get that time back. Mulligan’s Felicia on the other hand never backs down but that doesn’t mean love can be ignored. It leaves the viewer heartbroken in its uncertainty. MAESTRO knows that its subject even to his final days wandered. While not always alone it is clear that it is nearly impossible to do it without the one person who you truly shared love with. No matter how much you compose, conduct or perform the love they created will always be their greatest symphony.

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MAESTRO HAD ITS NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE AT THE NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL. IT WILL BE RELEASED IN SELECT THEATERS NOVEMBER 22 AND STREAMING ON NETFLIX DECEMBER 20