Some spoilers for Maestro ahead.

After the staggering success of A Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper has returned to the director’s chair to co-write, produce and star in a film about another musician in Netflix’s Maestro.

Despite Cooper’s remarkable transformation into acclaimed composer Leonard Bernstein from his mid-20s to his late 60s (brought to life with incredible prosthetics), Carey Mulligan is the true heart of this film.

Maestro might be framed as an insight into one of the defining composers of the late 20th century, but this film is firmly a two-hander about Bernstein and his relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Mulligan).  

From Promising Young Woman to The Great Gatsby and She Said, Mulligan has demonstrated her vast range, but as Leonard and Felicia’s marriage comes to an end and Felicia’s health deteriorates, Mulligan provides a rare nuance to a lost and lonely woman who has sacrificed her life for the price of her husband’s art.

The film begins as a bewitching chronology of their life together, as an elderly Bernstein reflects back on his early years with his wife. The energetic exchanges in their youth are shown in black and white, a stark contrast to the buzzing atmosphere of their undeniable chemistry. 

The couple meet at a party before their unconventional relationship begins. Leonard falls in love with Felicia, and their early days are blissfully easy and happy. 

In a remarkable progressive fashion for the time, Felicia is accepting of Leonard’s casual boyfriends, and the couple pride themselves on maintaining a healthy marriage, where all of Leonard’s needs are satisfied – even the ones that Felicia can’t meet herself. 

Inevitably, their relationship is predominantly seen through Leonard’s eyes. Yet, as time passes and the composer’s career skyrockets with West Side Story and other astounding accomplishments, their marriage begins to disintegrate.

At this point, it shifts into the vivid colour of the present and Mulligan delivers the performance of her career. Felicia’s sacrifice is made all the more devastating during some of the film’s saddest scenes, and the time she was so desperately worried about filling without Leonard in her life is tragically cut short. 

Through Felicia’s illness, Mulligan shines with a raw performance dedicated to the nuance that this character deserves. With a profoundly readable subtlety, she oscillates between a vast spectrum of emotions – including forced joy, painful regret, frustration and fear – in the blink of an eye. The entire segment is captivating for its honest take on a family coming together when someone they love needs it most.

Undoubtedly, Felicia’s final scenes are more heartbreaking to witness as, in the space of two hours, she transforms from a vivacious, young woman filled with ambition and admiration to a frail middle-aged woman who is a shadow of her former self.

Another tragic element to this couple’s story is that they didn’t fall out of love, quite the opposite. Their marriage stifled Leonard’s heart, as he wasn’t able to be his authentic self, and the music he created (or lack of it) reflected that. Once again, Felicia put his art and his needs above her own, and the marriage came to an end. However, it becomes clear that their love and shared history is still something they treasure.

Felicia is willing to sacrifice her career for their family and Leonard’s undeniable genius. Towards the end of the film, after their divorce, when Leonard is conducting at Ely Cathedral, he spots her at the side, rushes to her in the middle of his bow, and embraces her in tears.

At its emotional core, the film is about the unique, complex relationship between Leonard and Felicia; it’s also a breathtaking tribute to Cooper’s prowess as a director. It transcends conventional ideas of marriage and divorce and is a testimony to the notion that love can be a life-long commitment for a remarkable few.

Though this film might not resonate with everyone, it would be difficult not to be irrevocably moved by Mulligan’s outstanding performance.

Maestro arrives in UK cinemas on 24 November and lands on Netflix on 20 December.

Images: Netflix