Maestro (2023)

This is all about the legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein--it is at the same time technically dazzling and emotionally frustrating. The script follows a well-trod, episodic path: This happened, then this happened, then this happened. Ultimately, it falls into the same trap as so many biopics, especially prestige pictures with major award aspirations: In covering a huge swath of an extremely famous person’s life, it ends up feeling superficial. This, for me, was at the heart of the frustration. And yet, you should see it. Yes, this sounds contradictory, but the film is so consistently spectacular from an aesthetic perspective that it’s worth watching. The cinematography, costumes, and production design are all evocative and precise as they evolve with the times over 40 some-odd years of Bernstein’s life. It makes you feel as if you’re watching a movie that was made in the ’40s and continues to do so with each era. The one thing that is missing, for me, is the music. While Bernstein’s music is woven throughout—including an amusing use of his “West Side Story” prologue during a period of marital discord—we never truly understand him deeply as a musician or a man. He’s a legend, a larger-than-life cultural force in mid-century America whose persona extends far beyond the rarefied circles of the classical music world. Maybe saving that for the next biopic.