Movie · 2023 · Documentary, Music · 1h 44m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 5.3/10 (23.2K ratings)
Overview
Musician Jon Batiste attempts to compose a symphony as his wife, writer Suleika Jaouad, undergoes cancer treatment.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.3/10
IMDb: 6.8/10
Letterboxd: 3.39/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Metacritic: 76
TMDB: 6.7/10
Director
Matthew Heineman
Production
Our Time Projects, Higher Ground, Mercury Studios
Cast
Jon Batiste, Suleika Jaouad, Lindsey Byrnes, Anna Wintour, Jonathan Dinklage, Louis Cato, Stephen Colbert, Billie Eilish, Simon Helberg, Lenny Kravitz, Trevor Noah, Questlove, Joe Saylor, James Taylor, Scott Tixier, Stevie Wonder, Justin Bieber
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A polished, emotionally sincere documentary with strong musical moments and a compelling central relationship, but it can feel over-curated and uneven in focus. The film works best as a portrait of love, ambition, and endurance under pressure rather than as a fully probing character study.
Best for
viewers who like intimate, inspirational documentaries
fans of performance and composition process stories
audiences interested in illness, caregiving, and creative resilience
people who respond to polished, emotionally forward nonfiction
Skip if
you want a raw, unsentimental documentary
you prefer a tightly structured narrative arc
you’re looking for a deeply critical or investigative portrait
you dislike inspirational, prestige-doc framing
Overview
American Symphony is at its strongest when it lets music and illness occupy the same emotional space without forcing an easy resolution. The film’s best passages are observational and musical, especially when Batiste’s compositional process collides with the daily uncertainty of Jaouad’s treatment. Those scenes give the documentary a real pulse, and they explain why the project resonated with so many viewers even when it doesn’t fully satisfy as a formal portrait.
Worth noting
At the same time, the film can feel carefully managed. Several reactions point to a polished, self-aware quality that softens the messier or more contradictory parts of the story. That makes it moving, but also limits its bite: the documentary often prefers uplift and grace over friction, and it sometimes feels like it is arranging emotion rather than discovering it.
Bottom line
Still, the central relationship gives the film its weight. Even when the structure wobbles, the combination of artistic ambition, public success, and private fear is hard to dismiss. If you’re open to a refined, heartfelt documentary that values feeling over rigor, it’s worth a watch.
Top Letterboxd reviews
john (3★) · 461 likes
Can't believe I got Maestro'd twice in one year.
ZachK4 (2.5★) · 426 likes
So many interesting ideas in here, but it feels like the film never fully explores any of them.
Batiste is undoubtedly a musical genius, but I can’t help but think the film would be better told through Suleika’s perspective. Watching her partner own the Grammys through a television screen was, to me, the most interesting part of the movie. The happiness you feel for someone you love achieving their dream. The regret that you can’t be there. The guilt of… more
André (2.5★) · 425 likes
Jon Batiste is a very talented musician, there's no doubt about that. What bothered me was that in many moments, when his wife is hospitalized seriously ill, he is shown laughing and chilling by the pool and on the beach. Maybe the editing work is to blame for some of this, I don't know. It's really odd and I felt bad. But it's very special to see Suleika fighting for her life and following her husband's work. I'd love to see a documentary focused maily on her perspective of everything.
2024 Oscars | 96th Academy Awards
jazzymcclinton (5★) · 299 likes
the PAUSE before he plays the song dedicated to his wife
Matt Goldberg (2.5★) · 245 likes
Not my tempo. I spent half the movie wondering why it wasn't working for me since I don't have anything against Baptiste or his music. Then it finally clicked that the film lacks authenticity. Heineman constantly makes the entire movie feel constructed and while that doesn't mean anything is staged, it does feel like almost everything is presented in its most polished state. Baptiste doesn't seem to talk as much as he speaks in proclamations even when a moment is… more Not my tempo. I spent half the movie wondering why it wasn't working for me since I don't have anything against Baptiste or his music. Then it finally clicked that the film lacks authenticity. Heineman constantly makes the entire movie feel constructed and while that doesn't mean anything is staged, it does feel like almost everything is presented in its most polished state. Baptiste doesn't seem to talk as much as he speaks in proclamations even when a moment is… more