A Star is Born Review

A Star is Born is the third remake of a film from 1937 and serves as Bradley Cooper’s directional debut. And it is already a film considered having some awards potential.

Jackson Maine (Cooper) is a popular country-rock singer who’s suffering from tinnitus and plying himself with drink and pills. After a concert Jackson goes into a bar where Ally (Lady Gaga) is performing and sees she has the potential to become a star – getting her to perform with him and subsequently start a romance.

One of the biggest selling points of A Star is Born is its lead actress. The film gives Lady Gaga her first leading role – her previous role being a couple of bit parts in Robert Rodriguez films and appearing in American Horror Story – yet her performance in A Star is Born is if you pardon the pun star-making. Lady Gaga was a natural as the aspiring singer who was not fulfilling her potential and having a bit of temper. For a pop star known for having an extravagant image Lady Gaga was great playing a grounded woman from a working-class background.

I was never a fan of Lady Gaga’s music – I do not particularly like her overly produced sound. In A Star is Born she got to show off her natural voice and she is a powerful singer – belting out the film’s signature song “Shallow.” Even Lady Gaga’s harshest critics will be won over because her voice is unfiltered whilst her fan will obviously love her booming out these songs. The film could be interpreted as Lady Gaga criticising manufactured pop stars who have an image picked out for them and manipulating their voice – but this is properly an overanalysis because Lady Gaga is in control of her image.

Lady Gaga is surrounded by an ensemble cast and they complement each other. Cooper is willing to show his dark and ugly side as the Jackson, the alcohol-dependent, pill-popping musician who becomes a train wreck as the woman he discovers outshines him. Jackson’s a man who flips from sobriety and dependency –  yet still able to speak some home truths to Abby.

Sam Elliot and Andrew Dice Clay are also excellent performers and Dave Chappelle has a small role as a musician friend of Jackson’s. A Star is Born has an almost Steinbeck quality to it because of the character dynamics and many of the characters from a broken dream – Ally was dismissed because she has a nose and had given up becoming a singer – her father (Andrew Dice Clay) was a failed singer who sees his daughter having the same fate. Jackson is a falling star because of his health and Bobby (Elliot), Jackson’s brother is bitter because he feels his brother stole his chance for stardom. Cooper and his writers pack the film with drama.

The film has been receiving a lot of five-star reviews and it is already been seen as an Oscar contender – it will definitely get a couple of nominations for Best Original Song. However, the story in A Star is Born is similar to films like Crazy Heart, Danny Collins Singing in the Rain and The Artist. A Star is Born has the story of one star raising as another falls and like Crazy Heart and Danny Collins focuses on musicians with addiction issues. There is also a little bit of Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, where the main character’s health is failing and it adds an interesting element by showing doctors keeping Jackson going like an aging athlete by running tests and injecting him with steroids.

Cooper did assemble a great crew – he hired Matthew Libatique as his cinematographer who is best known for working on Darren Aronofsky’s films and the editor was Jay Cassidy – David O. Russell’s regular editor and worked on three films featuring Cooper as an actor. Libatique is a cinematographer I admire because of his use of long takes and extreme close-ups and Cooper allows Libatique to use his skills. Libatique shines during the concert scenes with the camera following characters from behind-the-scenes to the stage and highlighting the emotion on Abby’s face as she sings.

This version of A Star is Born is a great debut film for Cooper and Lady Gaga as director and leading lady. It is a story that is retold well and has a strong soundtrack to boot.