Maestro(2023)

Submitted by Julio M

7 Oscar nominations – including Best Picture

Pooper:
Felicia (Carey Mulligan) dies of breast cancer. Leonard (Bradley Cooper) goes on with his music work and having affairs with other men, although always reminiscing about how much he loved his late wife.

Longer version:
Over time, it becomes all but common knowledge that Leonard, despite being married to Felicia and having had three children with her, has engaged in multiple homosexual affairs with men. She has become mostly tolerant of the situation, out of her own love for him and the fact that he cared about their children, and both she and Leonard found themselves going to great lengths to deflect the gossip as “jealousy rumours” -even though Jamie (Maya Hawke) herself has become acquainted to the talk-; however, it -along with a sustained addiction to drugs and alcohol Leonard had- slowly drives them apart.

Matters come to a head when they have a heated argument, in which Felicia scolds him for putting the family through such an ordeal, out of his own satisfaction, warns him that “he has hate in his heart” and that “he is doomed to die an old, miserable queen”, which Leonard deeply resents. They separate without divorcing, especially when Leonard’s “Mass” becomes a hit. Felicia can barely contain her bitterness and Leonard looks fully immersed in his work.

In 1973, to an enthusiastic reception, Leonard performs “The Resurrection Symphony” in England, with Felicia attending. After this, they reconcile, while she asserts “there is no hate in his heart” -this, indicating she has decided to forgive him once and for all-. Their happy reconnection, unfortunately, is short-lived, as, not too long after, Felicia is diagnosed with terminal, fully-metastasized breast cancer. They tackle her disease together, going through surgeries and chemotherapy treatments, but she still gets progressively more ill.

In 1978, one day after returning from a walk around their vast estate, Leonard lies down next to a moribund Felicia; he realizes she is close to her death and lovingly cuddles her as he whispers “I love you” to her ear, after which she dies peacefully. Grieving with his children, Leonard decides they all leave the mansion and move elsewhere.

Back in 1987, from where the narration of the movie parted and flowed in a semi-non-linear fashion, we see an older Leonard very much involved in orchestra conducting and even teaching it to a younger generation. He seems particularly fond of a young, handsome and promising African-American student, William (Jordan Dobson), later revealed -during a party sequence- as his lover.

The movie ends with some final shots of the interview, in which Leonard admits how much he misses Felicia, followed by a flashback of a young Felicia in the backyard of their old house and images of some moments of the life and work of the real Leonard Bernstein.