Since its debut at the Venice Film Festival, A Star Is Born has been hot on the lips of anticipating fans worldwide.
In his directorial debut, which hits theaters everywhere this Friday, Bradley Cooper has not only created a visually stunning awards-worthy feature- which was given an eight-minute standing ovation when it premiered in Venice- but a fantastically observant and delicate movie musical. Starring Lady Gaga like you’ve never seen her before, A Star is Born is a wonderful remake of the 1937 classic of a timeless love story but with a 2018 modern twist.
Jackson Maine (Cooper) is rock n roll’s bad boy, a swoon-worthy crooner on stage, but a heavy drinking and lonely man when off of it. During a spontaneous visit to a late-night bar, he meets the alluring Ally (Lady Gaga) and upon hearing her rendition of La Vie En Rose, he immediately falls under her spell, seeing the potential in her music, even though she doubts herself. As the supportive partner we all aspire to have in our lives, Jackson encourages Ally to live her dream and speak her truth, not just as a singer but also as a songwriter. Gaining notoriety very quickly from her undeniable talent, Ally skyrockets to fame but loses her authenticity as she bends to conventional pop star tropes while Jackson watches from the sidelines. With his own career floundering plus the dissolution of his relationship with his older brother (Sam Elliott), the stress becomes too much for Jackson to handle on his own, much less sober. His demons begin to take over, which force Ally into unfortunate situations. She finds herself at the peak of her career at the very same moment Jackson is at rock bottom, and their personal circumstances prove to have heartbreaking consequences.
If A Star is Born proves anything, it’s that it is time we take Lady Gaga seriously as an actor.
A star was born in 1986 and her name, or stage name, is Lady Gaga. In a role made famous by Barbara Streisand, Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is one of the only few artists who could successfully pull off the all-encompassing and demanding role of Ally. She sings, dances, and acts so effortlessly, it feels as if this was the role she was born to play. This isn’t Gaga’s first foray into acting, she won an Emmy in 2016 for her role in American Horror Story, but what surprised me most was how she completely transformed into Ally. Especially in the earlier scenes before she becomes a “star,” Gaga gets lost in Ally’s insecurities and body shaming, and it’s hard to imagine her as Mother Monster, or Joanne, or a celebrity superstar at all. If A Star is Born proves anything, it’s that it is time we take Lady Gaga seriously as an actor.
Being that this is Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, it’s understandable that he would want to soak up every moment of the experience. His decision to shoot mostly in close-ups is an interesting choice and lends to both a feeling of suffocation at the height of fame while also the connection and closeness of Ally and Jack’s relationship to music and each other. At times it can feel a bit self-indulgent, holding takes for what may seem a little too long (and it’s questionable why he has a midwestern accent when he was born and raised in Arizona?), but nonetheless, the film checks all the right boxes, technically and emotionally. While the story is an adaptation and therefore his creative control can only stretch so far from the original story, Cooper succeeds in creating a full cinematic experience that stings with bitter realism and soothes with medicinal music.
For all the bells and whistles that come along with A Star is Born, it’s very easy for me to pick the one moment that made my mouth drop. This moment stands out from every other scene in the film’s 2-hour and15-minute runtime. That moment is the very first time Ally joins Jack onstage at his show and they sing Shallow. Their duet sends chills down my spine, even thinking about it now as I write this. That song is a symbol of strength, as a raw Gaga belts out the words at the top of her lungs and Cooper, in his gravelly voice, strums an acoustic guitar alongside her- acting as a pillar of strength.
A Star is Born is a fairytale, our protagonist a Cinderella. The film has gone through four remakes since the 1937 original, but this time, with Cooper at the creative helm, he brings to the big screen an emotionally charged, cinematic knockout that is arguably the most affecting version to date.
‘A Star is Born’ is rated R for language throughout, some sexuality/nudity and substance abuse. 135 minutes, In theatres everywhere this Friday.
