After tasting the fruit of the Amazon Originals tree, I’m addicted. I stumbled upon Mozart in the Jungle
The series follows oboist Hailey (Lola Kirke) who teaches kids how to play the oboe but aspires to be first chair in the New York Philharmonic. She suddenly finds herself auditioning for an opening, getting a shot and promptly being released only to become the assistant to the new, brilliant conductor Rodrigo (Gael Garcia Bernal), who steals the show after taking the job of the former maestro Thomas, brilliantly by Malcolm McDowell.
The story is smartly executed with witty banter, odd-ball scenes the likes of which include spin-the-bottle musical play offs by a bunch of nerdy classical musicians. Meanwhile, Rodrigo is a savant who takes the symphony by storm with his eccentricities, breathing fresh life into a stale community. But amid wowing his adoring fans and winning the respect of the orchestra, he alienates Thomas, who’s become a numb shell of his former self torn between his love for the first cellist (Saffron Burrows), his loveless marriage and his loyalty for the institution and to symphony’s president, Gloria (Bernadette Peters).
The old versus the new is a familiar themes played out in so many movies and books but done refreshingly well in Mozart in the Jungle. Rodrigo is so brilliant, the music in his head so strong, that he can inspire others to hear the same movement he can that is composed by the sounds of a traffic jam. A consummate artist yet a dichotomy, he abhors the business of music yet can effortlessly solicit hundreds of thousand of dollars in donations with party tricks. For example, at a fundraiser Rodrigo shows the rich female benefactors how to conduct music by fingering the rim of their champagne flutes. This only makes Thomas irate and he is overcome with jealousy. Yet Rodrigo truly respects Thomas and no matter how much he inadvertently rouses anger in him.
Rodrigo, after all, is the modern-day Mozart in this play. He convinces Hailey (who he calls Jai Alai because he can’t quite pronounce her name) to give up her dreams to play oboe in his orchestra. Instead, she’s asked to become his assistant, as he recognizes she “plays with blood.” Hailey needs the money and also suffers a minor breakdown with the symphony when nervously she fumbles her instrument during practice and suddenly finds her options limited. Any one who has wanted to realize a dream so bad, especially a musical one, only to apparently sabotage her chances can relate.
So, as Rodrigo is renowned as a brilliant composer, Hailey would be foolish to pass his offer to learn from his genius. But that does little to help her pay the rent. What results is a dramedy of epic proportions as Hailey chases Rodrigo as he chases his wife Anna Maria (Nora Arnezeder), a virtuoso yet mentally unstable violinist. Mozart makes magic with Rodrigo’s odd-ball schemes and aspirations, such as taking the orchestra on a field trip to play William Tell’s Overture in the courtyard of an apartment building. A crowd quickly forms and a block party ensues. NYPD officers soon arrive and haul Rodrigo to jail, leading him away like the Roman soldiers did to Jesus in Jerusalem.
Mozart delivers a splash of indie-flavor that quenches your thirst for “different.” At the same time, the script is well written and the cast is perfect. Once again, I can’t say enough how Gael García Bernal truly delivers the best performance. He is convincing as a musical genius, yet one who is unassuming yet arrogant, oblivious to the point of being pretentious. Yet he’s also surprisingly vulnerable, as we see in his relationship with Anna Maria, who is violent, abusive and jealous. But this makes her even more intoxicating for Rodrigo. Their love-hate relationship is as off-beat and fascinating as the entire series.
If you are looking for comedy with an independent feel blessed with a great script, superb acting, and perfect oddities, Mozart in the Jungle
