Bradley Cooper plays the Jewish-American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein in the film “Maestro”.
Five years after the film “A Star is Born” earned eight Oscar nominations, Bradley Cooper has returned to direct and star with “Maestro,” a Netflix effort that is his second effort as director and star, and his second film set in Awards to compete the world of music. This time, the actor plays a real-life musical titan, Jewish-American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, whose storied career includes such milestones as writing the music for “Love Without Barriers” and conducting the New York Philharmonic.
It’s clear that Netflix has high hopes for Maestro’s chances at the Oscars. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September and later screened at the New York Film Festival and AFI Fest. The theatrical release is scheduled for November 22nd and the streaming premiere for December 20th. However, “Maestro’s” journey along the awards circuit was followed by controversy over Cooper’s decision to wear a prominent prosthetic nose like Bernstein’s, sparking a simmering debate in Hollywood over the “Jewish face,” the term used to describe non- Jews are used. Jewish actors play Jewish characters, especially when negative stereotypes are involved.
Here are the details you should know about the controversy before “Maestro” premieres later this fall.
Bradley Cooper plays Leonard Bernstein in Maestro. (Jason McDonald/Netflix)
What is the “Jew face”?
The term dates back to the days of music halls and variety shows, but the practice of non-Jews wearing extravagant costumes to humiliate and insult Jews dates back centuries, particularly in medieval passion plays. Exaggerated noses, often long and/or curved, were essential to the realization of these stereotypical depictions. Vaudeville performers also imitated thick European accents to highlight and ridicule the otherness of Jews, much as blackface did to demean African Americans.
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As variety shows faded, they were replaced by Hollywood studios, many of which were founded and run by Jewish executives, but which continued to cast non-Jewish actors in Jewish roles. Just think of Charlton Heston as Moses in The Ten Commandments in 1956, Millie Perkins as Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank in 1959 and, more recently, Rachel Brosnahan in the Prime Video series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan’s drama Oppenheimer.
In 2021, comedian Sarah Silverman referenced this “long tradition” in an episode of her podcast, specifically referring to the casting of Kathryn Hahn in a planned Showtime series about legendary Jewish comedian Joan Rivers. (It should be noted that the series was ultimately not recorded).
“One could argue, for example, that a non-Jew playing Joan Rivers properly would do what is properly called ‘Jew face,'” Silverman said. “By definition, it is when a non-Jewish person portrays a Jew by foregrounding Judaism, often with makeup or altered facial features: a large fake nose or a New York or Yiddish tone of voice.” Why is our representation constantly violated in a time when representation is so essential and important, still in full swing today?
When did the “Maestro” controversy begin?
Production on “Maestro” began in May 2022, several months after Silverman’s comments. Netflix has released some photos from the set After a few days of filming, several newspapers noticed Cooper’s prosthetic nose. But when the first trailer was released a year later in August, the discussion was reopened and continued in the run-up to the film’s world premiere in Venice.
Among those who criticized Cooper’s decision was British actress Tracy-Ann Oberman, who wrote on Instagram: “If Bradley Cooper can’t make it through the power of acting, then don’t cast him, hire a Jewish actor.” As other people referred to it as X on social media (formerly Twitter), Jake Gyllenhaal, who is Jewish, had hoped to play Bernstein in a competing project, which ultimately fell through when production began on Maestro.
Curiously, Silverman appears in Maestro as Bernstein’s sister Shirley, but has not publicly commented on the film due to the ongoing Screen Actors Guild strike. Likewise, Cooper has not addressed the controversy and has not appeared on film festival red carpets or press conferences, particularly during the strike.
What have Jewish organizations and Bernstein’s children said about the film?
After the initial wave of controversy following the trailer’s release, Bernstein’s three adult children, Jamie, Alexander and Nina Bernstein, issued a statement supporting the director and star. (Bernstein died in 1990). “Bradley Cooper accompanied the three of us every step of his incredible journey making his film about our father,” the statement said, adding, “It’s true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice big nose.”
(1/6) From Jamie, Alexander and Nina Bernstein:
Bradley Cooper included the three of us at every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father. pic.twitter.com/y9xZWDotJe— Leonard Bernstein (@LennyBernstein) August 16, 2023
At a press conference following a screening at the New York Film Festival attended by Yahoo Film & TV, Jamie Bernstein once again praised Cooper. “We felt like we were in good hands, which was unusual,” he said. He then added: “When we gave him permission to make the film, it was possible that he would not consult us again. But we saw them develop a lot of things: he sent us photos from his phone and showed us montages of the images. When I saw the final version it was overwhelmingly exciting and also very surreal.”
Meanwhile, Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League also defended Cooper. “Throughout history, Jews have been portrayed as evil cartoon characters with large hooked noses in anti-Semitic films and propaganda content,” the ADL said in its statement. “This film, which is a biographical work about the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that.”
It’s worth noting that Bernstein’s religion plays only a minor role in “Master.” In one of the first scenes it is suggested that the young composer would improve his career prospects by changing his last name. He later appears wearing a shirt with Hebrew letters, which is what he did in real life. The film focuses more on his bisexuality and the problems it causes him with his wife Felicia Montealegre, played by Carey Mulligan. Therefore, aside from Cooper’s nose, his Judaism is not the focus of the play.
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