Here’s the wonderful trailer for Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” which is set to premiere at Venice next month. Visually, the film looks beautifully rendered.
I really, truly hope “Maestro” will turn out okay in the end, but, based on what I’ve heard, the film has been through a lot. They’ve been editing this film to death which is why there were three test screenings for it this year, all different cuts. There were also reshoots and touch-ups done on the film in New York City.
The gist I got from the early reactions was that it was incredibly well-directed and acted, but the pacing was off. The script had issues. Usually, a film that tests this early, months before its intended release date, is an indication that either the studio, or the filmmaker himself, isn’t happy with the finished product.
The film, which spans 30 years, is said to focus more on Leonard Bernstein's relationship with his wife Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) than it does on his music.
Although primarily shown in the trailer, only the first 20 or so minutes of “Maestro” are supposed to be in black and white, but, after that intro, the rest of the film is all in color. The makeup work is said to be incredible, Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein ages in very realistic fashion.
Cooper has been working closely with the Bernstein estate over the past couple of years to nail the details of this biopic. Suffice to say, this has been Cooper’s passion project for almost a decade now and I still can’t wait to see it.
There’s one scene that kept getting mentioned in the test reactions — Bernstein conducting at a cathedral. One of the other highlight moments is supposed to be an “On the Town” dance/dream sequence.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.