A Star Is Born - Film Review

A Star Is Born is the fourth remake of the 1937 classic (which, no, I haven't seen). In all honesty, I was a little skeptical about this movie. I was concerned about Bradley Cooper believably playing a Country rockstar and slightly wary that this would be just a 'hopeful wannabe girl gets pulled onstage and becomes famous' story. I was completely wrong, as A Star Is Born is so much more than that.

I didn't have any preconceptions of the plot, what would happen or really the crux of the story - I just knew that there would be music, a rising star and probably a brilliant soundtrack. All of these things are true but this movie but plus so much more, as it really is an emotionally devastating, well-crafted masterpiece.

The Plot:

Heavy-drinking, earnest and humble Global rockstar Jackson Maine (Cooper) meets enchanting, talented struggling musician Ally (Gaga) after stumbling into a drag bar and watching her perform an amazing rendition of La Vie en Rose. He becomes infatuated with her instantly and they spend the evening discussing music, life and songwriting. A pretty standard if not potentially cheesy story. It is from this point on that the movie really comes into it's own, however.

Ally is ushered onstage to sing her own song in front of thousands at one of Jackson's gigs. The performance is well-received and thus begins a snowball effect in which two lovers venture out on tour: living the ultimate romantic, spontaneous and exciting lifestyle. Ally, however, begins to overshadow Jackson and the slow unravelling of Cooper watching Ally descend into a commercialised version of herself whilst he is pushed into the shadows is incredible.

Jackson struggles to cope with the way in which the industry squashes Ally's authentic message - after telling her throughout that she has things to say in her music that people need to hear. His alcohol and drug abuse becomes more dangerous than ever. There is a particularly heartbreaking scene that stayed with me in which Ally is presented with her first Grammy, only to have Jackson stumble onstage inebriated, taking the microphone and wetting himself. This is where the movie's strength is: the bond between these two characters is so pure, honest and heartbreaking. Gaga plays Ally's dedicated self perfectly, rushing backstage to help her then-husband and missing the celebration of making her own dreams come true. Jackson enters rehab and the uncomfortable meeting between the two post-Grammy's is unsettling to watch and paints the picture of a couple who have nothing but love for one another but are battling a heavy distance caused by Jackson's personal demons.

**Warning - Spoilers Ahead. Make sure you watch the movie first as you don't want to ruin this!**

Jackson returns home, however Ally's manager exchanges harsh words with him, basically relaying that he is nothing but a hindrance to Ally's life and career and that he is dead weight essentially destroying her opportunities.

After relaying a hanging suicide attempt at a young age to an AA Leader in Rehab, a devastating sequence unfolds. Picture this: Ally is performing her final show after cancelling her tour to be with her husband. Jackson feeds the dog, puts on his cowboy hat and heads to the garage. The scenes are intertwined and there is chopping and changing until a shot shows a belt in Jackson's hand. The tension in the cinema was palpable at this moment, and I could hear so many shocked breaths and mutterings of 'oh no'. The inevitable happens and ends with arguably one of the most sucker-punching shots I've ever witnessed in a movie. The family dog (Cooper's actual dog - FYI) whining outside of the garage, the door now shut as Jackson as taken his own life. Ally then performs the heartbreakingly powerful song I'll Never Love Again, written to her from her late husband. Lady Gaga actually shot this scene in just an hour on the day that she lost her best friend Sonja Durham to cancer, therefore adding further emotion to the gut-wrenching scene.

The Characters

I'm going to go ahead and say that I can't remember the last time I saw such believable, honest and incredible on-screen chemistry between two characters as I did in A Star Is Born. The relationship is so tender, pure and the characters truly are each other's best friend. From the soft graze of Jackson's hand on Ally's boot whilst riding a motorcycle to her constant forgiveness and support of his sobriety, the truth in this on-screen relationship is what makes this film so hauntingly devastating.

Cooper plays the part of Jackson with ease - there is clearly so much comfort in the material as Cooper himself actually produced, directed and co-wrote the script. From the Country accent to the long greasy hair and pill popping tendencies, the character is instantly believable. Gaga as Ally emanates a sort of plain purity and strength, a woman wary of the industry for all of the times she's been told 'you sound great but you don't look great'. Together the couple are a joy to watch and not once will you doubt the believability of the characters or their relationship. The key word for the entire movie is 'authenticity', with Cooper being a detail-orientated perfectionist and working tirelessly for years to make every detail as authentic as possible. For example, a scene in which Jackson and Ally are fighting and he calls her ugly (a big sore spot for both Lady Gaga and the character) wasn't actually in the script. Cooper threw this in whilst filming to achieve authentic hurt and it's clear from Lady Gaga's reaction that this worked perfectly.

Sam Elliott is wonderful as Jackson's older brother Bobby, with a underlying rage for the success of the brother who 'stole his voice'. There is a very moving scene in which both men break down as Jackson admits that his Father wasn't his role model all along, his brother was. Ally's douchebag manager (Rafi Gavron) is also the perfect love-to-hate-character, with the entire cinema emanating a burning rage for the man when he contributes to the tragic finale.

Speaking of characters, how incredible does Lady Gaga look with red hair? (see below). Honestly, I was floored.

The Music

The soundtrack is truly outstanding and fits seamlessly into the story. There's no awkward 'oh here comes a song now' - it's not like a musical and the music completely makes sense within the plot. The soundtrack is a country-pop-rock melting pot of soaring melodies, devastating lyrics and rootsy authenticity that makes it feel like it's not just another 'music movie'. Standouts include tracks such as Shallow - the song which Ally sang to Jackson in a parking lot on the day that they met and eventually performs in front of the crowd at his gig. Cooper opens the song with a husky Country vocal, accompanying beautifully simple acoustic guitar with lyrics speaking of a young girl longing for change. Gaga joins, singing the tale of a man trying to 'fill that void' which is highly poignant for Jackson. In swoops the Chorus, Gaga's forceful belt smacking you in the face like a gust of wind as the song lurches into searing melancholy intensity.

Other standout tracks include I'll Never Love Again (mentioned earlier) and Always Remember Us This Way (a beautiful ballad telling the story of holding onto snapshots of memories for darker times). There is a great mix - from deliberately vapid pop songs showing the shift in Ally's now-mainstream career (Why Did You Do That, which includes the lyrics 'why do you come around me with an ass like that?' and Hair Body Face) to authentic Country-Rock songs performed on stage by Jackson (Alibi and Black Eyes). The soundtrack also contains tracks of just dialogue (Lady Gaga's idea), which is a nice touch.

Personal Opinion

It's rare that a movie completely lives up to the hype such as that surrounding A Star Is Born. However, the entire cinema was in floods of tears, completely horrified, heartbroken and moved. The performances, the tragic plot and beautiful music really does collate to make a masterpiece. I haven't seen the other 3 versions of this movie and so the plot was a complete shock for myself (and what seemed like everybody in the cinema) but it seems the choices and direction that Cooper chose for this version are perfect to me.

The movie really is one of the best I've seen and I was extremely moved, thinking about it constantly since. Cooper did an incredible job and proved everybody who doubted him wrong. Casting Lady Gaga was also an excellent choice and she committed 100% to the role to the point that I forgot who she was almost instantly as she completely transformed. Cooper actually put a make-up ban on set to make sure that Gaga looked unrecognisable and could open herself up to be more vulnerable and for me, it really worked. Warning: you most definitely will cry. I almost cry still thinking about it, to be honest.

Rating: ★★★★★