There's so much to admire here: the wonderful performances, the captivating cinematography, the creative subverting of the standard biopic trope. And yet I came away somewhat disappointed.
Part of this is due to the nontraditional approach to a biopic. We don't see much of Bernstein's renowned highlights ("West Side Story" is barely mentioned), and for the biography of a famous musician there's surprisingly little music. All right, I'll go with that.
Call me a traditionalist, but I wanted more of a defined story arc. We see key moments in their lives but I never truly got a sense of what drove Bernstein (or his wife) other than their undeniable love for one another. Also, in many of the scenes I had a hard time following dialogue: lines were spoken on top of one another, rapidly. Yes, I know that's how people talk in real life, but this is a movie that we're supposed to understand.
I will watch this again (with subtitles) to see what I missed, and perhaps I will appreciate it more. Let me state that I mostly liked this (hence my rating) -- but whether it was due to heightened expectations or not, I wanted more.
Part of this is due to the nontraditional approach to a biopic. We don't see much of Bernstein's renowned highlights ("West Side Story" is barely mentioned), and for the biography of a famous musician there's surprisingly little music. All right, I'll go with that.
Call me a traditionalist, but I wanted more of a defined story arc. We see key moments in their lives but I never truly got a sense of what drove Bernstein (or his wife) other than their undeniable love for one another. Also, in many of the scenes I had a hard time following dialogue: lines were spoken on top of one another, rapidly. Yes, I know that's how people talk in real life, but this is a movie that we're supposed to understand.
I will watch this again (with subtitles) to see what I missed, and perhaps I will appreciate it more. Let me state that I mostly liked this (hence my rating) -- but whether it was due to heightened expectations or not, I wanted more.