Garnering widespread acclaim, Bradley Cooper’sMaestrowas released on Netflix on Jul 17, 2025, instantly becoming one of the most-watched movies on the platform. The historical biographical drama charts four decades in the life of Leonard Bernstein, universally recognized as one of the most influential American conductors and composers of the 20th century. Apart from receiving plaudits for his directorial style and filmmaking techniques that often mirror the period of the story, the performances by Cooper and co-star Carey Mulligan have been singled out among the movie’s undeniable strengths.
As the movie chronicles Lenny’s professional rise to fame, the biggest conflict in his life involves his complicated marriage to Felicia Montealegre (played by Mulligan), an aspiring actress whom Lenny met in 1947. The two instantly hit it off, eventually got married, and had three children together. However, Felicia was well aware of Lenny’s extramarital affairs, often with young men, that continued throughout his successful career and threatened to end their marriage.Maestroflashes back and forth between Lenny’s early days in the 1940s and his final days in the 1980s, leaving some viewers to wonder what transpires at the end of the movie. While fairly straightforward, here’s howMaestroconcludes and what it all means.
Professional Success Meets Personal Tragedy
Following the ugly Thanksgiving row that takes placein the early ’70s, Lenny and Felicia decide to remain married but go their separate ways for quite some time. They eventually reunite in London’s Ely Cathedral, where Lenny gives a stirring performance of Gustav Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony and earns a standing ovation. Felicia approaches Lenny following his triumphant performance and tells him he no longer has hate in his heart, which she told him during the Thanksgiving fight. Alas, Lenny’s happiness is quickly dashed when Felicia informs him of her medical diagnosis.
Soon after congratulating Lenny on his performance at Ely Cathedral, Felicia informs Lenny that she has breast cancer that she fears has spread to her lungs. Upon hearing the news, Lenny instantly breaks down and all the success he just enjoyed on stage is all for naught. In the next scene, the doctors confirm that Felicia’s cancer has indeed metastasized. Felicia’s doctors perform various surgeries over a few years, and despite her rigorous chemotherapy regimen, Felicia’s health worsens. On Aug 04, 2025, Felicia passed away in Lenny’s arms at the age of 56.
Lenny’s Life After Felicia
Once Felicia’s fate is sealed in the movie, Cooper deliberately opts to portray Lenny’s life after his wife passes away. Despite the pain and heartache that he caused Felicia and their children over the years because of his insatiable sexual appetite, Lenny proved that old habits die hard at the end of his life. The final moments ofMaestrotake place in 1987 and show Lenny still teaching students how to conduct and compose, proving that his passion for music remained until his career was well past his prime. Thetranscendent performance by Cooperhelps viewers sympathize with Lenny’s late-stage career moves.
Related:Leonard Bernstein: Exploring the Important Composer Before Bradley Cooper’s Movie
The movie also makes a point to show that Lenny was still enjoying himself by partying and having affairs with much younger male students well into his late 70s, suggesting that he never quite got over the chronic impulse that nearly ended his marriage to Felicia several times throughout their time together. In a bit of poetic irony, however tragic, it was Felicia who in many ways encouraged Lenny to embrace his true identity as a gay man, and her death somewhat liberated him to be more open about his attraction to men. In many ways, Felicia knew Lenny more intimately than he knew himself, and while her loving support could only go so far, Lenny came to appreciate the sacrifices Felicia made after her tragic death.
Berstein’s Enduring Love for Felicia
The very ending ofMaestrocomes full circle by returning to the scene that opens the film. Lenny sits in the living room of his home and gives a TV interview for his latest opera,A Quiet Place, inevitably reflecting on his personal and professional past. When the subject of Felicia comes up, it’s apparent that, despite his chronic betrayal of her throughout the decades, he truly cared for his wife until her dying day. The fact that Lenny canceled several of his music performances to be at Felicia’s side through her hospital visits and grueling medical treatments proves such, as he willingly forewent professional fame and fortune to spend the limited time Felicia had left.
RELATED:11 Best Movies About Musicians
In the final scene ofthe stellar Bradley Cooper movie, Lenny pays loving homage to Felicia by reciting a famous quote she taught him when they were younger. The quote comes from American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and reads, “If summer doesn’t sing in you, then nothing sings in you. And if nothing sings in you, then you can’t make music.” Felicia gave this advice to Lenny years before, at a time when he was at his lowest and most depressed, and he never forgot the inspirational quote. It’s another example of Lenny expressing his genuine appreciation for what Felicia meant in his life; something that becomes painfully magnified in retrospect as he becomes a much older man.
The final image ofMaestrocomes from the recesses of Lenny’s romantic memory, in which a young Felicia ambles through their yard with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. In the end, it’s clear that Lenny truly loved Felicia and expressed that she didn’t die in vain.StreamMaestroon Netflix.
