If you've not seen Bernstein's CANDIDE, you might not be aware of the significance of "any questions?" It is the very last line in that show, and is spoken by Dr Pangloss/Voltaire. Cooper's use of that exact line is the real meaning of the same text in MAESTRO.

The Bernsteins moved into a 4 BR Dakota apartment in NYC, but one year later, Leonard moved in with his boyfriend in southern CA. One year later, Felicia fell ill. Leonard came back to be with her in her final year. It's clear that even though "they had an agreement", it was eating away at her, as depicted in the balcony scene, growing irritation at his lover living with her family and when she is so fed up with his narcissism that she jumps into the pool, presumably to scream in silence.

Thank you so, so much for your thoughtful review. I've watched "Maestro" four times, getting new insight each time. I think the script is wonderful - the writing is underwritten at times, economical. For example: After Felicia's lung cancer diagnosis, they sit back to back in the park and she starts to smoke. Lenny hears a click and says "Is that a cigarette lighter"?" Felicia responds: "Mind your business". That says it all, economically. There are so many other brilliant things in this script. The performances are all superb. Eye-opening. I always admired Carey Mulligan's work but here - WOW. A transformation that is a revelation of a woman's soul. So real. Sarah Silverman and Maya Hawke were just great. Wow again. Bradley Cooper - giant "bravo" on your acting, directing, writing, producing. If I had to pick one adjective for this film, it would be "Bold".

I the youngest of four from a broken marriage, my mother came out in my thirties and remarried to a wonderful woman who I'm proud to have as a stepmother... I'm also a lifelong musician. I felt a personal connection with the subject matter that is probably on a different level than most, I can't wait to sit and discuss it with them. The use of black and white, and color scenes mirror the coming of color tv, the cigarettes, and wardrobe, and even the cinematography really capture the era and left me with an unsettling sense of nostalgia. I've had teachers that were just as passionate about music's ability to convey emotion as words cannot express... This one hit home for me... it's a masterpiece.

Thank you for your in-depth review. I've watched interviews of Bradley Cooper and he's always contended that he did not want to film a biopic. This was a love story for the ages, and in my opinion, a film worthy of an Oscar nod.

Terrific breakdown. This wasn't your standard glamorous Hollywood biopic, for sure. It wasn't about conducting. It wasn't about Mahler's 2nd. It wasn't a documentary about LB's contribution to musical education. It was simply a movie about the dichotomy between a very complicated, tortured, unhappy man who became one of the greatest musicians of our time, his unrestrained need for love and fame and the woman caught in the middle. I was somewhat surprised the family approved and give Cooper a lot of credit for going there. A brilliant film.

This is the best review I’ve seen so far. Strong work. My husband and I were just saying that we need to watch it again to try to glean more the second time around.

Thank you. I so agree with your observations.I went to see it 3 times as I was so drawn to it and wanted to understand what I was witnessing. I’ve since done a deep dive into his life.

I really appreciate your review. The movie wasn’t perfect, but I could grasp what it was trying to accomplish. I, too, gleaned more of the nuances after a 2nd viewing. I studied classical music, so I already knew the overall history of Bernstein, and I actually really liked Bradley Cooper’s unusual take on the bio-pic. A lot of subtle text and story to enlighten Felicia & Lenny’s unique relationship.

This is such a perspicacious analysis and appreciation! Thank you for sharing, confirming, and raising subtle questions!

Thanks for filling in the gaps in this movie. I'm, going to watch it again.

I studied filmaking. A fantastic professor once said, "If it's screenworthy you don't have to explain your work. It's meaning should be on the screen." This movie needed a video, many people who did research after seeing it, reading professional critic's words and multiple viewings as the sound design of the dialogue was awful with lines garbled. Bradley Cooper may expect awards and have entered awards season with high hopes, but I don't believe he'll go home with many, if any. 6+ years of research, seriously??? Though his "A Star Is Born" was a good start, I found myself wanting a refund of my time after watching "Maestro".

Thanks for this review-as a classical musician, it was always going to be difficult to process this movie under the weight of the expectations I had for it. The scene I felt the most confused by initially was their fight-I wished there had been more set-up to her accusation of him having hate in his heart (whether she meant it or was only trying to hit him where it hurt.) I thought the breakdown/dysfunction of their relationship felt a bit glossed over and not deeply explored before the Resurrection scene. Anyway, this video had some good insight that I had missed, thanks!

Familiarity with the subject matter helps to appreciate the work yet over familiarity can distance your ability the convey the story of it to others. So true with most things in life.

By the end of the film I was exhausted by the maestro’s overwhelming personality, and wished for the movie to end so I could go home. As an orchestral musician, I had other hopes and expectations which weren’t met. But this narrator’s accent is magic.

Brilliant review. I now realise how much I missed….or misunderstood. A new subscriber, thank you.

This analysis is outstanding.

This is a really wonderful breakdown. Thank you!

Great analysis! As you point out, the marriage/duality theme was so artfully done in the movie. There was also that scene when Felicia's daughter remembers the time Felicia takes her to a barmiza, and describes how the fashionable boy takes his time reading and greeting his guests before finally making his way to the rabbi, which Felicia drolly describes as "and here comes the bride." Now it makes complete sense! Thanks for the awesome review ❤

Great, insightful review. I think those disappointed that the film didn’t feature more of LB’s career/political activities are missing the whole point of the film, which you explain very well. I agree that those scenes you mention, particularly the one with Koussevitsky and the “let’s give it a whittle” one are truly key to understanding the point of the film, and many viewers can miss it

This video makes me want to go watch it again!

Thank you so much for the video, I really agree with what you say. I was lucky enough to watch a few youtube videos about Lenny and Felicia's relationship before I watched the movie, so I could get a lot of the nuances. I have thought, since watching, that Felicia's change of heart against Lenny could have to do with her age. All women go through a great deal of change at mid-life and it might have made her less tolerant, or just needing someone to be angry with. As time passes, the hormonal fires abate, and perhaps she just calmed down. I really agree that it is difficult to know why Felicia entered the marriage, and understanding that her true passionate lover died gives her some motivation. Maybe she was lonely. I was also, as were you, struck by the fact that the closing credits gave Felicia the title of Maestro, and agree with your understanding of it. I could go on and on about this movie. I watched a breakdown of the score by Cooper and his sound guys. I read about the aspect ratios, the black and white, the color - I think Cooper just took all aspects of cinema to tell his story. I loved what he did and I look forward to seeing it again.

Thank you.

Brilliant movie with incredible performances. Your analysis is GREAT!!!

Loved it saw it 3 times in the theater 15:40

Maestro is a MASTERPIECE! Just as Leonard Bernstein was, and his gifted elegant wife.

It's important to remember that women were not allowed to have their own bank accounts until the 70s. What could Felicia do after Robert Harte died? Lenny was a marriage of convenience, but in fairness, many marriages were and still are, unfortunately. Edit: Misspelt Felicia.

I think this film is a masterpiece.Any questions?

why did they make him look like Bela Lugosi??? Sorry, I couldn't stop laughing a few times. Then he shows up as George Hamilton, who once received an honorary degree from the International Smart Tan Network... Oh well, there were a few snazzy lines like something about him becoming an old queen! She steals the show, if you ask me...

A side story: Matt Bomer here plays another gay man who ends up married to a woman in the interest of respectability, in fact at Bernstein's suggestion. David married actress Judy Holliday, a woman that Lenny briefly considered marrying himself.

Well done! More insight than most (any?) professionals brought to their reviews. But then, they were writing on deadline. And I feel compelled to say that I found both Mulligan's and Cooper's performances strained. I've known intellectuals who 'converse' like they're delivering lines composed by Shakespeare , but one senses they are performing for their own entertainment.

Bradley wasn't born to do a "regular" biopic. Passion mixed with genius, not easily explained nor created.

Well, the director did say that it was her choice. And that it was a health that was sacrificed to the decision.

increíble reflexión y crítica

Congratulations. Your review comes the closest to any I have run across which shows in my mind a better and deeper understanding of what the film MAESTRO intended than the other reviews I have encountered. I still feel dissatisfaction with one aspect of the film which no one has addressed, and I feel it was a mistake made by Cooper himself, for whatever personal reasons he had. Leonard Bernstein was a good composer, but he was a GREAT conductor, and it was in conducting that his greatest gifts to the world of music were given. Even the title of the film, MAESTRO, always refers to a conductor, not a composer. And no review which I have read discusses the importance in the film of Gustav Mahler, although Mahler's music flooded the film's soundtrack. In comparison, only a smattering of Bernstein's compositions were ever realized in the film. And the recognition of Mahler's music was one of Bernstein's best legacies. He turned even the German audiences' attention to a composer they had basically ignored during the time of the Nazis. But this is, of course, only my opinion and a disappointment, perhaps, for only me.

I really enjoyed your breakdown of MAESTRO. I, too, thought that many people wouldn’t “get” everything that this film was offering and would, instead, feel the absence of it being an actual autobiography of his entire life and musical contribution and experience. However, I had to remember that the film was clearly marketed as a film about Leonard Bernstein’s relationship with his wife, not a film about the entire substance of his life as a legendary artist. I’ve also come to believe that more people will fully understand what’s actually happening in the relationship because there are so many more marriages that have this kind of arrangement than couples actually reveal. I’m a middle aged jazz/pop musician, I was 22 when Leonard Bernstein died and was aware at the time that he was considered bisexual. In our current age, we now understand that there is a broad spectrum of sexuality and gender and each individual falls somewhere on that spectrum and there is less pressure to choose or be one way or even have to be a gender. Today people can identify as non-binary. We’ve come a very long way. But this is solidly a story of their individual relationship and how they coped with its complications and I actually believe more people will understand it than assumed. Especially in the artistic community, there are thousands of relationships like this. I think Bradley Cooper was brave to choose this part of Lenny’s life to portray on film, it’s a huge risk, even with powerhouse executive producers like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorcese. But I suspect it will do well with the awards.

Well done, sir.

Excellent video, I got more out of the movie because of it and I plan to rewatch it, motivated by your commentary. Cheers mate

Good breakdown. I haven't re-watched it (I don't know if I want to subject myself to that) but IMHO I think the the people behind this film did not ultimately have the courage to make the film that was there to be made. I suspect the nature of the relationship depicted would probably have been much less palatable. This film puts a high gloss on a relationship of significant compromises and convenience. A more up front depiction I think would have been much more compelling, delving into the compromises people make in order to be allowed the opportunity to create art that will reach an audience and ensure social acceptance.

I can’t watch movies with the amount of smoking. So many things are modified for creative reasons in all films. This should be one.

Don't think he was quite interesting enough to make a movie about him

Ah, but you misunderstand. I was attached to my mother through her umbilical cord, yes, but she was not being born; I was alone being born myself. When I die, no one dies with me or shares in my death. I die alone.

Excellent video- I have seen the film twice and this makes me one to look at it again- to me one of the weakness of the movie is that we needed more of the character played by Matt Bomer- Lenny's gay lover who should have had more scenes-

Why isn't this movie available to buy on Amazon???

You bring much to light. This points out one of the major problems I had with the whole movie. I don't like it when biopics dumb down and spoon-feeds an audience, but I feel like Cooper went too far in the opposite direction. In an interview, he admitted that before being offered the script, he barely knew anything about Bernstein. I honestly feel he felt nervous portraying someone he wasn't even a fan of so much that after all the research, he made a film that anyone but a Bernstein nerd would feel lost watching the film. In dozens of biopics, even ones that focus on the love relationships, you get some basic knowledge of the person's achievements, etc., or at least learn the reason someone even bothered to make a film about some random person. It's like Cooper made an Agatha Christie novel into a film, but left out all the clues. Him playing a section of "A Quiet Place"?? I heard that opera ONCE & never again, because like so many other fans found out, it was lousy. Most people don't even know it exists. So how many people would feel the deeper impact of the story w/o knowing it? The same thing with other music soundtracked in. All the significance of "Mass" on his life, and the monumental K. Center premiere makes more sense to know, so that when his wife is really pissed off at him for playing with one of his almost unnamed boy-toys, it's a much louder slap in her face. But only a Bernstein nerd would know that. If we are only supposed to focus on this guy's personal life, who leave so much out of the film? I felt like the relations with the men were so fleeting. I didn't get to know any of them, and barely heard their first names. Aaron Copeland is in the room in one scene, I can't remember if visible or not, just refered to by his first name. #1. Who would know it was A.C. unless they already know all about Bern.? & #2. If Cooper wanted to focus on the sexuality, COPELAND was not only GAY and his mentor, he had some sage advice for Bern. about being so. I guess that's for the Bern. nerds only to know. It would have made the film so much richer. And Felicia had more going on in her life - example, the one-line reference that the radio play (?) she was singing in she actually produced - So I felt largely like an outsider to all of them. You read the letter that one line was from. Sh*T, there's the story! No viewer has any idea that one line has so much more surrounding it. Cooper assumed we are already Bernstein nerds & have already read his biographies. "But there isn't enough time to explain more" people shout. Has anyone seen "Milk" or "The Aviator" or "Malcolm X" or "Amadeus"?? All of those somehow give you enough to get to know the characters enough AND their creative process & career. Must have been magic. Unless people born after 1980 have seen Spielberg's "West Side Story", would they have recognized one scene were he's arguing with Felicia & an instrumental part from it, about Jet/Shark tension is playing? It adds so much more to the film if you happen to know - it, I argue - would show his art and his life connections better. Since some of the songs were not his own, it played as maybe the film had a composer, & added something new? All such a dissapointment. And about the nose. It looked great, and he sounded a lot like the younger, then older Bernstein, but as the older one, sounded like Bernstein with cotton stuck in his nose. It was distracting.

Live isn't THAT "complicated". He LOVED men.

I think i will give it a second watch because of this video

If I misunderstood it, it's because it wasn't in the script

A film should need a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it companion piece. This was desperate and tedious Oscar fodder of the highest order. If it wasn’t for the calibre of the people involved, this would be laughable: the garbled, overlapping, chain-smoking, blocked-nose dialogue; the ridiculous aging make-up where the daughter looks older than the mother; the he’s gay/she dies singular situation with zero narrative drive. It’s ripe for parody. A hell of a lot of highly suggestible people have been hoodwinked into lauding this vanity project.

Bisexual, not totally gay enough to father his children.....at least he might have been careful with his sexual health. Not knowing about Aids or STD passed on to said couple or lovers? None I know of...but still a very talented couple n family unit. Still love him, even I had a big crush on this guy ha ha ❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊

I was 10 years old when he wrote West Side Story! I do not want a person in their 20’s to explain him to me! I know crap when I see it!

Pure Oscar bait

I thought him smelling like tuna fish and cigarretes meant he had sex earlier plus he was sweating. What do u think?

Careerist takes beard. Woman sells herself out because greif. Hollywood glorifies it.

I hate the movie!!

Between the cigarettes and the mumbled dialogue i had to walk out. Very disappointed

Didn't misunderstand it, just didn't like it..Or the movie..Never rang true even their love story..Cooper should have stayed behind the camera and fleshed out a better script..A disappointment after a star is born which was great

I understood it. It’s still a mediocre film directed by someone who keeps getting these jobs because of his name and influence.

This is arrogant for you to "accuse" me and others of misunderstanding the movie Maestro. Do you really think you're so much smarter than the rest of us? I saw the movie last week in a movie theater here in NYC just four blocks from Carnegie Hall, and I loved the movie - and I understood it.

Maestro is based on a false narrative about Bernstein. I posted a new video on my UKposts channel titled THE BERNSTEIN EFFECT. I studied with one of his friends, Ivan Davis, who also performed with him. He's not who you think he is. Arts education was based on his teachings which are designed to make the conductors, pianists and composers stupid. This ruined classical music as an art form and a business. Most of classical recordings are vanity records, because of him. Many of the orchestras have a financial foundation based on criminal activity. They commit wire fraud by soliciting donations with false information. There's a massive amount of jealousy based mental illness, because of Bernstein's assault on arts education. I provide many examples of irrefutable evidence on this subject.

I cannot understand your English.