Maestro (2023)

Top comments

1. 

   baraka92

   Classic Oscar bait-biopic. Aimless, long and pompous. The cinematography feels overdone because it doesn't have much meaning behind it. There's no insight on what made Bernstein a towering figure in the world of music; it focuses only on his personal life but never chooses an angle to latch on and therefore the dynamic between him and Felicia gets repetitive very quickly. Also, Cooper sounds like he has a perpetual flu.
   
   And when I thought this movie couldn't be more annoying, near the end, it topped itself with one of the worst needle drops in movie history.
   
   It starts... things happen... then it ends. 4 months 2 weeks ago
2. 

   chunkylefunga

   This film couldn't suck up to the Oscars more if it tried.
   
   Plus is doesn't actually give you any real insights into what Bernstein a genius. 1 month 3 weeks ago
3. 

   Caerus

   The first sign of trouble is the grand cinematic opening setting up his big break as a musician, but then it cuts away without even bothering to show it.
   
   I don't even know what to focus on, that was just terrible top to bottom. "A closeted gay man, who seems to have had an unrelenting cold for 50 years and may or may not work in the music industry, repeatedly cheats on his wife". In no particular order:
   
   We really don't see any of his passion for music until 90 minutes in, in possibly the only good scene in the movie. The surface-level biography of "Bernstein did this, then this, then this" without touching on his motivations, beliefs, or values. The second half of the film focuses more on Felicia but we don't know anything about her outside of the relationship. The wanna-be Sorkin grand monologues that manage to say absolutely nothing in 200 words. Cooper's bad SNL-esque impersonation of the man (look up some real interviews with him). It tries to convince us of his musical genius by scoring the film with music from other, better productions; but the net effect is nothing ever really fits the scene.
   
   Then when things are mercifully drawing to a close, it tops it off with the worst needle drop I've ever seen. A better movie might have been able to pull that off, but not one that lost the audience 90 minutes earlier.
   
   There are a couple small bright spots - the cinematography is excellent, particularly the early black and white sequences, and Carey Mulligan is always fantastic. 2 months 3 weeks ago

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