Lent #10

Oscar round-up.

"Maestro" (7 nominations) and "Nyad" (2 nominations)


Two 2023 biopics about stubborn people - Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) and Diana Nyad (Annette Bening). Both worth watching, but for my money the smaller production "Nyad" is the more rewarding watch.

Bernstein comes across as an unsympathetic character with his wife (Carey Mulligan) unfairly put upon and long suffering, in the end I felt the story was really her story, and that I knew very little about his motivations and travails. I loved many of the scenes but felt they didn't flow seamlessly, so that I was always aware I was watching a story being told by actors. Very stylish and clever but not gripping.

Compare that to "Nyad", with Diana portrayed as a difficult character, but intriguing, and her best friend (Jodie Foster) just as supportive as a wife might be but less tragic, and the second film is a much nicer experience altogether. Foster and Bening took me on their journey so that I wasn't just watching but travelling along their track for a short time. Somehow I finished the film feeling inspired to do something, not sure what but by heck I'll do it.