Been a longtime fan of Bernstein. I remember we had a textbook about famous Americans in 1967 that had a short biography of Leonard Bernstein, and it started something like this "Lenny was always running." In the first few minutes of the movie, an early image of Cooper's Lenny was of him running into Carnegie Hall once he was told he was going conduct the New York Philharmonic in concert.
The casting was spot on. On Inside the Actors Studio over 10 years ago, when asked what job Cooper would like if he wasn't an actor, he replied "Conductor." Lenny was one of those conductors who conducted with his whole body & every emotion so know that Cooper was in no way exaggerating when he was conducting. The makeup for Cooper's Bernstein was fantastic. I've loved watching Carey Mulligan grow up as an actress, from the wonderful Sally Sparrow in Doctor Who's Blink to the sad character in Mudbound. Both leads were extraordinary & ultimately heartbreaking.
Using Bernstein's music (mostly) as the score was an excellent choice as it showed that, even though he wasn't a particularly prolific composer, he was an extremely diverse composer.
The core of the movie was the often tricky relationship between the Bernsteins. While Felicia always said she understood who Lenny was, they were sometimes in a tough situation. The script makes it clear that while they loved each other, they were both quite arrogant. At the end though, Lenny's famous workaholism was less important than being with Felicia. I lost it when Lenny cried into his pillow.
This movie is worth your time to see in a theater.
The casting was spot on. On Inside the Actors Studio over 10 years ago, when asked what job Cooper would like if he wasn't an actor, he replied "Conductor." Lenny was one of those conductors who conducted with his whole body & every emotion so know that Cooper was in no way exaggerating when he was conducting. The makeup for Cooper's Bernstein was fantastic. I've loved watching Carey Mulligan grow up as an actress, from the wonderful Sally Sparrow in Doctor Who's Blink to the sad character in Mudbound. Both leads were extraordinary & ultimately heartbreaking.
Using Bernstein's music (mostly) as the score was an excellent choice as it showed that, even though he wasn't a particularly prolific composer, he was an extremely diverse composer.
The core of the movie was the often tricky relationship between the Bernsteins. While Felicia always said she understood who Lenny was, they were sometimes in a tough situation. The script makes it clear that while they loved each other, they were both quite arrogant. At the end though, Lenny's famous workaholism was less important than being with Felicia. I lost it when Lenny cried into his pillow.
This movie is worth your time to see in a theater.
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