Third time should be the Oscar charm for Carey Mulligan (‘Maestro’)
“Maestro” waltzed into the BFI London Film Festival with aplomb. This Netflix feature, the second film directed by Bradley Cooper, showcases the actor as composer Leonard Bernstein and Carey Mulligan as his wife Felicia Montealegre. The movie, due out on Nov. 22, explores their complex marriage and while Cooper — who directs, stars in, co-writes, and produces — deserves plenty of plaudits, it is just as much Mulligan’s movie.
Mulligan’s Felicia starts off as awed by the towering, colorful Lenny before she slowly transforms into a more forceful woman. Determined not to be sidelined, Mulligan’s Felicia is fierce and full of fight. However, she also descends into a certain sadness — depression plagued Bernstein, too — and Mulligan displays a gentle touch in these scenes, handling them with poise and dignity. Her final few scenes, too, without giving anything away for those who do not know what happens, are heartbreaking. Critics agree, this is some of Mulligan’s best work.
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Christian Holub (Entertainment Weekly) observed: “One thing it does share with ‘A Star Is Born’ is its meaty lead actress role. As Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre, Carey Mulligan is the heart of ‘Maestro.’ It is through her powerfully restrained performance that we can connect the various fragments of Bernstein’s life that we glimpse in the film.”
Nicholas Barber (BBC) opined: “Mulligan’s performance as the loyal but tortured Felicia is a sparkling tour de force, especially in the lengthy, complicated scenes in which the dialogue overlaps with documentary-like naturalism, but is also enunciated with the precision of the most sophisticated screwball comedy. She has never been better. Apparently, there is some debate as to whether a woman should be addressed as a ‘Maestro’ or a ‘Maestra,’ but whichever term you prefer, Mulligan definitely qualifies.”
And Time Out noted: “‘Maestro’ zeroes in his vivid, knotty life-long love affair with Chilean émigrée Felicia Montealegre, played with a rare mix of porcelain poise and nuggety resilience by Carey Mulligan. It’s a strange thing to say about an actress with umpteen film credits behind her, but the ‘Shame’ star is a genuine revelation here: from wannabe stage starlet with the crisp elegance of a European princess, to an emotionally careworn, half-abandoned wife and mum rattling around in a Connecticut mansion, she’s the beating heart of the film and consistently defies its irksome habit of relegating her to second fiddle.”
As such, Mulligan finds herself in our predicted five nominees for Best Actress alongside Emma Stone (“Poor Things”), Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Scandal”), and Fantasia Barrino (“The Color Purple”). Mulligan is currently in third spot, behind Stone and Gladstone.
However, Mulligan stars front and center as the lead in a biopic. This is a classic Best Actress type of role. Three out of the last five Best Actress gongs went to women playing real people in biopics — Jessica Chastain (in 2022 for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”), Renée Zellweger (in 2020 for “Judy”), and Olivia Colman (in 2019 for “The Favourite”). The other two were Michelle Yeoh (in 2023 for “Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Frances McDormand (in 2021 for “Nomadland”), who won for playing fictional characters.
It’s also a very showy role, for lack of a better term. That’s not to say that Gladstone or Stone don’t have their moments (this writer has yet to see “Poor Things,” however, it should be noted) but Mulligan has several classic “Oscar moments.” She has two or three scenes with Cooper where their characters argue — the best being the Thanksgiving fight, which is punctuated by a killer Snoopy punchline. Mulligan shines in these scenes and goes toe to toe with Cooper. Plus, Mulligan’s final scenes in the movie (again, no spoilers) are another hallmark of Best Actress-winning performances. It would be demeaning to call Mulligan’s role, or Felicia herself, a “long-suffering wife” character, but it does — kind of — fit the bill. And the Oscars love these roles. Chastain recently won for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” while Glenn Close almost won in 2019 for “The Wife.”
There also seems to be a feeling that Mulligan is very much reaching “her moment” as a performer. She was previously nominated twice for Best Actress. Her first bid came in 2010 for “An Education” before she followed that up with a second nomination in 2021 for “Promising Young Woman.” However, she was a breakout star in 2010 and the nomination was the reward there. Meanwhile, “Promising Young Woman” was mostly all about the breakout talent of writer-director Emerald Fennell, who won Best Original Screenplay. That is where all the focus went. Now, obviously, Cooper is the talk of the town with “Maestro.” He stars in it, directs it, co-writes it with Josh Singer, and produces it. But there are many critics and filmmakers (including a number I’ve spoken to here at the London Film Festival) who have touted Mulligan as the best thing about the film. It depends on how awards season shapes up but, if the narrative becomes, as these comments suggest it might, mostly about Mulligan, this could very well be her year.
That could spell trouble for Stone and Gladstone. Stone reportedly runs away with “Poor Things” but she’s already won Best Actress — back in 2017 for “La La Land.” Voters may want to reward someone else and give Stone a second win further down the line. Meanwhile, this is Gladstone’s breakout role. She is getting rave reviews, for sure, but this feels like her “An Education” moment. It might just be that the nomination is the win here for this breakout actress. And voters may want to reward “Killers of the Flower Moon” in another way — perhaps with a Best Picture win or by giving Martin Scorsese another Best Director Oscar. And then there’s the whole category switch. That may not hurt Gladstone at all, but category confusion can be an Oscar killer. Some voters may want her to be in supporting. This could potentially spell trouble for Gladstone — but could give Mulligan a timely boost.
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