Controversial movie where Bradley Cooper wore a fake nose has dropped on Netflix

Bradley Cooper's controversial new film has now dropped on Netflix - but a few people are turning their noses up at it.

The actor takes on the role of legendary conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro, which was released on the streaming platform on Wednesday (20 December).

It focuses on the Jewish icon's relationship with his wife - actress Felicia Montealegre - who was portrayed by The Great Gatsby star Carey Mulligan. Take a look here:

Cooper starred, directed and produced Maestro - and he also co-wrote the script, the talented b*****d.

He worked closely with Bernstein's three children to bring their father back to life on screen and they fondly described it as a 'portrait of our parent's marriage' which is very 'specific and personal' to them.

The movie scored a 81 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and earned a seven minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival in September, but not everyone is as impressed by Cooper's latest project.

People have been more preoccupied by the Hangover actor's transformation into his character rather than the storyline, which Netflix describe as 'a love letter to life and art' which 'at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love'.

Cooper sporting a prosthetic nose in Maestro while playing Bernstein has become quite a controversial talking point and it has sparked outrage among some members of the Jewish community.

Netflix

He has even been accused of 'Jewface' and 'ethnic cosplay' due to the fact he altered his features and took on the role of the composer rather than giving the spot to a Jewish actor.

Makeup artist Kazu Hiro, who overhauled Cooper's look for Maestro, revealed that it took more than five hours to finish.

He told the crowd at the movie's New York Film Festival debut: "The last stage - he was covered pretty much everywhere, the bodysuit and arms -- that took over 5 hours."

Hiro said he 'wasn't expecting' people to be offended by Cooper's exaggerated facial features in the film and feels 'sorry that he hurt some people's feelings'.

The makeup artist added: "My goal, and Bradley's goal, was to portray Lenny as authentic as possible. Lenny had a really iconic look that everybody knows – theres so many pictures out there because he's photogenic too – such a great person and inspired so many people. So we wanted to respect the look too, on the inside.

"So that's why we did several different tests and went through lots of decisions, and that was the outcome in the movie."

Netflix

Cooper also defended his decision to use a prosthetic nose in Maestro, telling CBS' Gayle King he had done the 'whole process out of love' and believed his appearance wouldn't have looked 'right' without the prosthetic.

He explained: "My nose is very similar to Lenny’s, actually. I thought, ‘Maybe we don’t need to do it,’ but it’s all about balance, and, you know, my lips are nothing like Lenny’s, and my chin.

"By the time he’s older, it’s the whole face [that had prosthetics], so we just had to do it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t believe he was a human being."

Bernstein's children have spoken out in the support of the actor and makeup artist too, telling people the fake nose row has become an 'annoying distraction' to Maestro, which pays tributes to their parents.

Jamie, Alexander and Nina Bernstein told Vanity Fair: "It just made us gasp at what they were able to achieve. He (Hiro) would send us photographs on his phone, and some of them were so spot on that we would think, Oh, come on now, he just sneaked in a picture of our dad."