Leonard Bernstein’s biopic ‘Maestro’ has gotten rave reviews despite the backlash against lead actor Bradley Cooper’s use of a prosthetic nose.
Despite the “anti-semitic” criticisms against Cooper’s prosthetic nose, the queer biographical film has earned praise from film critics after its screening at the Venice Film Festival, even earning a 7-minute standing ovation from the audience including Bernstein’s three kids Jamie, Alexander, and Nina Maria.
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian noted that the “heartfelt [film was] conceived with sincerity and taste”, and claimed that the “big nose isn’t a big deal.” Bradshaw also commended Cooper’s “eerie likeness” to Bernstein.
Meanwhile, BBC film critic Nicholas Barber wrote that the film was a hit, remarking that it was “a warm yet melancholy portrait” of the world-renowned queer conductor. Aside from praising Cooper, he also referred to Carey Mulligan who played Felicia Montealegre as a “sparkling tour de force.”
On the other hand, critic David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the “moving” biopic is “a layered examination of a relationship that might be grossly over-simplified today as that of a closeted gay man and his ‘beard.'”
