Key Takeaways:
– Bradley Cooper’s performance as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro drew mixed reviews from classical music experts.
– Despite his intensive six-year preparation for the role, Cooper made crucial errors during conducting scenes.
– The Oscar contender faced direct competition from Cillian Murphy, who won the Best Actor award after six months of preparation.
– Cooper failed to secure any wins at the Oscars, leading to widespread internet mockery.
Bradley Cooper’s years-long preparation for his role in Maestro has been called into question. Despite losing out on the Best Actor Oscar to Cillian Murphy, Cooper had notably dedicated six years to learning to play the role of the flamboyant and iconic American conductor and composer, Leonard Bernstein.
Meticulous Preparation Meets Critical Eye
In anticipation of the Oscars, Cooper provided insight into his painstaking preparation for the role and his struggles with portraying Bernstein. However, his portrayal was later critically analyzed by Brett Yang and Eddy Chen of the YouTube channel TwoSetViolin, who found several flaws in Cooper’s conducting.
The duo, self-dubbed as Classical Music Detectives, review musical performances in films and TV. In one of their recent episodes, they turned their attention to Cooper’s popular conducting scene in Maestro. Surprisingly, despite Cooper’s intense training, the experts highlighted some crucial errors within his performance.
“Acceptable yet Flawed” Performance
While Cooper’s portrayal was generally acceptable, especially considering past performances by other actors, Yang and Chen noted basic but significant flaws. These errors, particularly with wrist movement while playing the piano and a generally uncontrolled energy during conducting scenes, call into question the value of Cooper’s six-year preparation.
Moreover, the experts exposed further issues with his technique during a play-along to the maestro’s conducting. Regardless, they commended Cooper for his efforts to learn the intricate skill, acknowledging the intense difficulty of this endeavor.
Cillian Murphy vs. Bradley Cooper
Despite Cooper’s diligent effort to depict Bernstein’s iconic performance, the actor failed to win the Best Actor Oscar. This has sparked conversations about the controversial rivalry with Cillian Murphy, who won the award after a preparation period of merely six months for his role in Oppenheimer.
Bradley Cooper’s Extensive Training for Maestro
Cooper significantly showcased his determination by opting to film the conducting scene live. Cooper confessed his fears about filming the pivotal scene to Lin-Manuel Miranda. To prepare for this, he not only studied Bernstein’s conducting in detail but also sought guidance from Metropolitan Opera director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Despite his tireless preparation and dedication, Cooper’s performance failed to impress at the Oscars. The film didn’t secure a single win out of seven nominations, causing a stir on the internet and generating a flurry of memes at the actor’s expense.
The Impulsive Competition
Beyond merely adding to Cooper’s list of Oscar snubs, the examination of his performance in Maestro indirectly highlights a recurring issue in Hollywood: the rushed preparation of actors for complex roles. In comparison to Murphy’s six-month prep for Oppenheimer, Cooper’s dedicated six years for Maestro spotlights the pressure on actors to deliver exceptional performances within remarkably short preparation times.
Indeed, the insights provided by experts like Yang and Chen prove invaluable in revealing whether such rushed preparations can truly do justice to complex roles and skills. Available on Netflix, Maestro continues to draw mixed reviews from both audiences and critics, testament to the ever-looming scrutiny over Hollywood’s portrayal of intricate crafts and historic figures.
