I sat down and watched Maestro (2023), the Leonard Bernstein biopic directed by and starring Bradley Cooper, and here’s my hot take on the film: it’s actually pretty good in a lot of ways, but also, it’s nothing to really write home about.
The stand-out performance for me wasn’t Cooper’s Bernstein, but was actually Carey Mulligan’s portrayal of Bernstein’s wife, Felicia Montealegre. The dialogue felt real between Cooper and Mulligan, and I did appreciate how the film wasn’t too eager to just wave aside all of Bernstein’s crappy behavior under the guise of “creative genius.” I wouldn’t exactly call this film an “unflinching” look at Bernstein’s personal life, but it’s probably a lot more honest than biopics usually are when addressing his copious infidelities and the way he tended to steamroll his family without really even thinking twice about it.
I’m a bit underwhelmed by the Best Actor nomination for Cooper’s portrayal of the composer (it wasn’t exactly a ground breaking performance, but he’s a solid actor so, whatever, good for him), but I could say the same thing about most of the nominations for that category most years. But we’re not here to talk about my thoughts on the acting, we’re here to discuss the costuming.
Mark Bridges, who has two Oscars under his belt for his designs for The Artist (2011) and The Joker (2017), designed the costumes for the film, and I think he nailed the looks of the four decades that make up the overall film. Like the dialogue between the characters, the costumes came across as more real than artificial, with each of the characters looking natural in their clothing.
Surely the fact that there is an abundance of photographic documentation to draw from helped in this regard, however, Bridges didn’t just rely on the visual evidence, he drew a lot of his inspiration from biographys about Bernstein and his family. He also chose to recreate the clothes worn by the characters, studying, designing, and patterning pieces from extant clothing in order to tailor the costumes in the film to the actors, making adjustments as needed so they would appear natural in the clothing rather than just pulling from stock.
Have you watched Maestro (2023)? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
I was completely underwhelmed by just about everything in the film except the costumes and Mulligan’s performance. I thought it was superficial in just about every way…except the production design and the costuming. So, you’re pretty much a genius in my book.
Also, in the Ely Cathedral scene, I think Janet Baker’s dress totally outshone Isabel Leonard’s. But I worship on the altar of Baker’s greatness, so maybe I’m biased. That bodice!!!!!
Also underwhelmed. Boring as fook in fact lol
Total endorsement of H L Wagner’s comments in every respect.
That taupe dress is awfully short on Mulligan?
She was an arty young thing in 1946; there might have also been post-war fabric shortages.
I got halfway through it and never finished it.