The new biographical film Maestro about the American musician Leonard Bernstein faces after publication samples criticism. Actor Bradley Cooper, who is also the director of the film, portrayed the musician of Jewish origin with an artificial nose that, according to some opinions, looks like something from a Nazi propaganda cartoon. This was reported by The Times of Israel server today.
The film’s producers, which include the companies of well-known directors Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, have not yet commented on the criticism that is coming from the actors and on social networks.
The use of an artificial nose was strongly criticized by the British actress of Jewish origin Tracy-Ann Oberman. According to her, Cooper should have been able to play Bernstein without a prosthetic nose.
“If Bradley Cooper can’t do it on the strength of his acting alone, then don’t cast him and give the role to a Jewish actor,” Oberman said. She pointed out that in the new film Oppenheimer directed by Christopher Nolan, the roles of prominent scientists of Jewish origin, Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein, are also played by non-Jewish actors.
The film also received criticism from social media users. In addition, according to them, the enhancement of the nose did not bring the actor closer to the real Bernstein. “The real Leonard Bernstein didn’t have a comical nose like Bradley Cooper in Maestro,” The Times of Israel quoted one user as saying.
Critics thus believe that the filmmakers followed a stereotype of what Jews look like, rather than trying to portray the world-famous conductor as believably as possible. “Hollywood gave Bradley Cooper, who is not Jewish, the role of Jewish legend Leonard Bernstein and put a disgustingly exaggerated Jewish nose on him,” she stated American anti-discrimination organization StopAntisemitism.
The controversy also raises the question of how appropriate it is for an actor who is not of Jewish origin to play a Jew. At the same time, many point to the fact that some earlier practices used in theater or film, for example the portrayal of blacks by white actors with blackened faces, are now considered inadmissible.
Maestro will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, September 2. They compete for the main prize – the Golden Lion. The film will be distributed by the streaming platform Netflix, on which it will be available from December 20. It will be released in theaters from November 22.
2023-08-16 17:01:51
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