A Star Is Born (2018) review - Movie Thoughts (Chapter 28) 💕

Hello everyone,

Today's film is the first time in a while where my opinion has come out vastly different to what both critics and even my friends thought. People raved about this film, my best friend saw this film twice in cinemas, and even though it was a musical (aka my shit) I was not drawn to it all at the time. Now that I have finally gotten around to seeing it, I didn't think it lived up to the hype at all. While I hide in my bunker to avoid everyone coming after me for what I'm about to say, I'll let you read why this film was very average for me....

(**disclaimer: the following thoughts are 100% my opinion, you do not have to agree with them - film is inherently subjective and everyone's perspective is valid! Also, there are probably spoilers in the following, read at your own risk. Now onto some thoughts....**)

(**quick 2nd disclaimer: I did not intend to write a mini-thesis with this one, but I didn't want to edit this down at 1am. It would seem I cannot stop the word vomit at the moment, but I 110% promise I am working on getting back to that concise frame of  mind... hopefully....**)

Source: IMDB

The fourth iteration of this tragic love story, including a classic Barbra Streisand performance that’s risky to follow up, was a steep hill of expectation to conquer. Parts of Bradley Cooper’s debut feature as director was partially intensely emotional, while other parts felt really slow. Famous musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) helps aspiring performer Ally (Lady Gaga) find fame as they fall in love; whilst alcoholism and internal struggle send his career on its own downward spiral. Within this dramatic rollercoaster, the real star of this show was always the fabulous music created by Cooper, Gaga, country musician Lukas Nelson and a number of talented collaborators.

As Cooper’s first directorial feature, sequences of this film showed real promise for his unique perspective behind the camera. Wearing all the country hats as director, co-writer and lead actor, Cooper has captured some lovely moments of sentiment whilst not really attempting to do anything new with a well-known plot structure other than modernizing to include the likes of YouTube and Saturday Night Live. The emotional periphery encapsulated the added importance of family connections and their impact on the mindset of the two leads as their worlds change around them. Ally’s father watched her concert clip ‘200 times’ on the Internet and the support of her family was a mainstay in the background of her journey. The brothers relationship between Jack and Bobby (Sam Elliott) was tumultuous, fractured, yet begins to heal. Elliott was wonderfully direct and made this pocket of the film shine a little brighter. Although a comparatively small arc, it was arguably one of the more powerful.

Big themes of addiction and suicide were essential proponents of Cooper, Eric Roth and Will Fetters’ solid and at times clunky screenplay. There were flashes of compelling and emotive discussion, but parts of that could also have been handled better. Not enough time was given to Jack in rehab or his struggles after leaving because it was consistently juxtaposed with how it affected Ally’s self-confidence and public image as an artist.

It was clear early that Cooper captured how Jack and Ally’s music and hearts spoke to one another in a really special way. But it lost that intensity through the second act with slow pacing that lacked energy. The spontaneous proposal and wedding felt a little bit off, and Ally’s album release and SNL performance were also disengaging and even boring. He did bring back that initial fire in a tumultuous third act, and Ally and Bobby’s conversation in the closing scenes was particularly gut-wrenching with punchy direction and intelligently poignant dialogue.

The chemistry of the main relationship was the emotional crux; if that didn’t hit, everything else sort of doesn’t hit either. That was the reason inconsistency in chemistry and certain portrayals of Ally and Jack’s relationship was a problem. Getting swept up in a whirlwind of old school rock and roll carried the momentum early. There was something beautiful about the classic, Romeo & Juliet-esque passion big love story, yet there were issues with investing in the relationship given the underlying problems in their partnership that aren’t properly addressed. It’s intrinsic to the success of the narrative that audiences are swept up in these two characters falling hard and fast; but the chemistry wasn’t there at times. Other times like the ugly conversation in the bathroom showcased the best of Cooper and Gaga’s chemistry; adding the necessary tension and edge of a couple at breaking point. Anytime Cooper and Gaga were singing together, on stage together or talking about music their connection was excitingly vibrant. Plenty of off-stage moments unfortunately felt awkward and flat.

Conversely, this film’s soundtrack captivated audiences, and its mix of commercial pop, old school soul rock and piano ballads were the standout highlight of this experience. Their significance was built into the movement of the story well; with Gaga pulling angelic tones out of nowhere in a convenience store car park. Academy Award winning song ‘Shallow’ was beautiful and had this magnetism that pulled these two characters into each other’s souls. Anytime Gaga was at the piano, it was absolutely captivating. ‘I’ll Always Remember Us This Way’ was phenomenal in its simplicity and optimism. The final scene and memorial performance of ‘I’ll Never Love Again’ was a love song to the fundamental devotion their relationship represented. The rolling close-up on Gaga’s face as she sung every note with beauty and passion created a clever degree of intimacy and centred the final moments of the film on its thematic core. An end shot on Ally’s face in tears was a moving last image and tribute. Cooper’s gravelly toned vocals were also surprisingly good; and the development of the music like a pivotal supporting character in itself invigorated the argument for how musical movies do truly connect with their audiences.

Lady Gaga shifted into a dramatic gear as cater-waiter and aspiring singer Ally; yet her performance was patchy and at times awkward. She was always fiery and independent at her core, but a lot of her personality was lost in the mess of her rise to stardom. She got the full industry treatment, but she always looked and felt most like herself behind the piano or smashing a tambourine onstage with Jack.

Cooper gave a complex and sturdy performance as the tragic rockstar who was at that level of fame where fans start to refer to him by his full name. A deceptively deep character with twists and turns that are shown with nuance and humanity, he had plenty of baggage to grapple with in amongst falling in love. Drugs before stage and alcohol after stage from his first on-screen performance echo the throws of addiction early, and this ticking time bomb grew that important gloom over the film to inject the tragedy to the romantic tale. An alcoholic father, clear family fractures, a tense childhood and the toxic crux of fame and success were a lethal combination, but the delivery of Jack’s background was disappointingly expositional and too reliant on the dialogue to bear the weight of these important tidbits.

Much of A Star Is Born struck at the heart of the periphery, failing to tug at the heartstrings for much of the slow middle section. Perhaps the most memorable element was the nuggets of melodic perfection from Gaga’s incredible vocals. An intriguing story about celebrity, the strongest connection between Gaga and the music.

7/10, 3 STARS

Thanks for reading,

Love and I'll always remember us this way, Emily 💕