VENICE – Bradley Cooper transforms into legendary conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro”, which got its world premiere in Venice Saturday ahead of the controversial screening of Roman Polanski’s latest and possibly final film.
Cooper’s metamorphosis into Bernstein was described as “eerily exact” by critics at the Venice Film Festival, while many said Carey Mulligan matched him beat-for-beat as Bernstein’s wife Felicia.
There has been some internet-driven controversy over the size of Cooper’s prosthetic nose — seen by some as perpetuating stereotypes about Jews.
But Variety felt the “tempest-in-a-teapot” was misplaced and that the nose, already defended by Bernstein’s family, “works terrifically well”.
“Maestro”, which Cooper also directed, is a classical slow-burn drama that focuses less on the “West Side Story” composer’s music than his complex love…
