Lenny’s relationship with Felicia was complicated, but “The Maestro” rarely delves beyond the surface. The two share an infectious, bubbly chemistry when they meet and fall in love — and Cooper, the director, wisely lets these scenes, and later the couple’s arguments, play out in long, solitary takes. The affection between them feels genuine, and Mulligan is often wonderful, finding ways in her portrayal of Felicia that elevate her beyond the mere notion of the woman behind the man. However, the Costa Rican-Chilean actress is often literally in Bernstein’s shadow; One image finds her standing in the wings as her husband acts, his exaggerated figure devouring her as if he were a monster. (Mulligan is also the beneficiary of costume designer Mark Bridges’ most amazing costumes throughout the film.) But how does Felicia really feel about having to share her husband with a series of men, most of them younger and cross-dressing? She catches him kissing a party guest in the hallway of their apartment in the historic Dakota Building and coldly reprimands him: “Fix your hair. You’re getting dirty.” This comes close to the kind of real, raw emotion that would have given “Maestro” more heft.
Speaking of the film’s visceral nature, much has been made of Cooper’s decision to don elaborate prosthetics to make his transformation into Bernstein more complete. The prominent nose, in particular, was a source of consternation, because Cooper is not Jewish. (Bernstein’s children have defended this choice.) Makeup artist Kazuo Hiro, who won Oscars for his transformation of Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill for The Darkest Hour and Charlize Theron into Megyn Kelly for Bombshell, does quite a convincing job here, especially when Bernstein appears as a 70-year-old man at the beginning and end of the film.
There is something that happens at the end of the film, though, that deserves criticism. It’s the late 1980s, and the frame has expanded to widescreen. Driving his Jaguar convertible, Bernstein belts out R.E.M.’s “It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine).” Just as he zooms into the center of the shot, lead singer Michael Stipe shouts the lyric “Leonard Bernstein!” Now, maybe this is something Bernstein did in real life; He clearly thought highly of himself, so perhaps he was very tickled to be mentioned as such. But in the movie, this choice was surprising. I groaned audibly.
Bernstein took a risk with his work. That’s what made him great. The Maestro would have been stronger if he had done the same.
In theaters now. On Netflix on December 20.
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