By John Corrado

New releases for the week of December 1st, 2023.

Theatrical Releases:

Maestro (Limited Release): Bradley Cooper follows up his directorial debut A Star is Born with this biopic of New York composer Leonard Bernstein, starring himself in the role. The story mainly focuses on the closeted Bernstein’s relationship with his wife Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) over several decades. If the screenplay doesn’t go as deep into Bernstein as it could have, the film is carried by the strength of its performances. Aided by prosthetics, Cooper disappears into the role, especially in the showstopper conducting scenes, and his direction shows confidence. The film has a lot of gorgeously crafted sections, including excellent cinematography by Matthew Libatique, who offers some striking shot compositions. I want to give this one a second look before writing a review, but it’s worth seeing. Opens in limited release before hitting Netflix on December 20th. (Review coming soon!)

Monster (Limited Release): Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest is a simmering drama about childhood and bullying, centred around a widowed mother (Sakura Ando), her troubled son (Sōya Kurokawa), and a young teacher at his school (Eita Nagayama). The film unfolds as a bit of a mystery as perspectives shift and more facts come to light, employing a Rashomon-like narrative structure that holds us in its grip as the story keeps reverting to reveal new information. It builds to a powerful finale that left me genuinely moved, complimented by a poignant musical score by the late composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. One of the best things I saw at TIFF this year. (TIFF 2023 Review)

More Releases: Silent Night (Wide), Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce (Wide), Godzilla Minus One (Limited), The Shift (Limited), My Animal (Limited)

Streaming Releases:

May December (Netflix): Todd Haynes’s latest is arriving on Netflix today following its limited theatrical run. The intentionally melodramatic film is carried by very strong performances from Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton, who keep it both intriguing and strangely entertaining to watch. Portman stars as an actress studying to play Moore’s character in a movie, whose extreme age gap relationship with her husband (Melton) sparked a media frenzy that sent her to jail. I just watched this one again, and I think it takes on new layers of depth on a second viewing. It somehow felt sadder and stranger on a second look, with breakout star Melton’s body language in particular being fascinating to watch. I got more out of the film this time around. (Full Review)

More Releases: Candy Cane Lane (Prime Video), Family Switch (Netflix), American Symphony (Netflix), The Shepherd (Disney+)