Maestro is a 2023 biographical film about the life and career of the famed 20th-century American conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. The film was written, directed, and produced by Bradley Cooper, who also plays the starring role.
Leonard Bernstein was the first American conductor to achieve worldwide recognition. He became one of the most influential conductors and composers of the 20th century, writing celebrated scores including West Side Story (1957, 1961, 2021) and On the Waterfront (1954) and serving as an ambassador of classical music to the public.
Bernstein’s bisexuality plays a central role in the film and lies at the core of most of the drama. Early on, Bernstein has a same-sex relationship with David Oppenheim (Matt Bomer), before he meets and falls in love with the actress Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). Over the course of his marriage, Bernstein has affairs with other men, leading to an estrangement with his Felicia.
When tensions rise, Felicia suggests that Bernstein's bisexuality may just be a disguise for being gay, and accuses him of draining the family's energy. She warns, “If you’re not careful, you’re going to die a lonely, old queen,” and goes on to forbid him from coming out as bi to their daughter (Maya Hawke). The scene between Bernstein and his daughter, in which he painfully denies being bi, is one of the most moving moments in the film.
The couple eventually reconciles shortly before Felicia is diagnosed with cancer, and after her death, we see a then-aging Bernstein clubbing with a younger man.
Two of the most iconic scenes in the film are parallels of one another. Early in the story, Bernstein and Montealegre sit back-to-back in a field as they look forward to a future together, with Felicia as Leonard’s rock. Decades later, they recreate the same scene and pose, only this time, the older Bernstein is the one who supports his cancer-stricken wife.
The inability of other characters to wrap their head around Bernstein’s bisexuality is one of the recurring themes throughout the story, but the fact that Bernstein was, in fact, bi, and not gay, is made abundantly clear.
The film was criticized by Bernstein’s children, who took issue with Bradley Cooper’s decision to play up the drama around Bernstein’s sexuality. According to Bernstein’s surviving family, Felicia Montealegre “knew exactly what the deal was” with Bernstein’s bisexuality, and never had a problem with it to the degree represented in the movie. The film also came under fire online for Cooper’s decision to wear a prosthetic nose piece, which a small handful of people alleged to be anti-Semitic, though such charges were largely considered unserious.
Maestro was nominated for four Golden Globes and seven Academy Awards, including a nomination for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling.