Looking back at some of his films, such as 2010’s The A-Team, The Hangover franchise, and voicing Rocket for the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, you kind of got an impression of the measure of Bradley Cooper as an artist; happy to work in the mainstream, appearing in features with commercial appeal, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

And then in 2018, he seemed to positively pivot with his career, by producing, writing, directing and starring in A Star is Born, taking a grown-up approach to grown-up material.

And instead of simply being a one-off venture, he continues in a similar vein with this Leonard Bernstein biopic.

Living in NYC in his mid twenties is Leonard Bernstein (Cooper). He’s passionate about music, and is currently an understudy conductor at the world famous Carnegie Hall. And then his life changes, with one phone call – the main conductor Bruno Walter has fallen ill, which means that Bernstein gets to finally step up to the podium, and conduct the legendary New York Philharmonic orchestra no less.

He is a huge success, which finally sets him on his career path as a world renowned conductor and composer.

And then he meets Felicia (Carey Mulligan), a young actress from Costa Rica, with whom he falls in love.

It seems like the perfect partnership, with the couple very much in love, leading to them getting married. But there’s an aspect of Leonard’s life that causes friction between them, for their entire relationship.

This feels very much like a coming of age project for Cooper, on a film that he’s heavily involved in, that due to its subject matter, is on the other side of mainstream.

To reinforce its art house credentials, it’s shot in black and white and colour, as well as in a squarer screen ratio.

And although Bernstein will be a known name within the musical world, as well as to fans of early REM, he isn’t instantly recognisable as many other biopic characters are.

But it doesn’t really matter, as that’s kind of the point of a biopic, to become introduced to someone else’s life.

And to be fair, the composer’s career isn’t the focus of the film, as that’s given to the relationship between Leonard and his wife. It is a relationship that draws out two phenomenal performances from its stars Cooper and Mulligan, as a couple genuinely in love, but also having to cope with Leonard’s infidelities.

In truth, Bernstein’s career is somewhat immaterial, almost wallpaper to the relationship developing on screen. However, keeping it relevant is Bernstein’s music, perfectly underpinning the drama unfolding on screen.

The fact is, if you stripped back the fine performances and rousing soundtrack, you would be left with a fairly mundane story about a man cheating on his wife. However, you can see Cooper developing as a director, with what is only his second time behind the camera, by keeping things interesting on screen, elevating the material beyond the written page.

It could be argued that it’s a tad gimmicky, what with the prosthetics, use of black and white and colour etc, but there’s no denying that Cooper conducts himself in an assured manner both in front of and behind the camera, that is likely to get some Oscar buzz, and deservingly so. Bravo.