Never in a million years would I have thought that my popstar crush from 2008 would have broken her poker face to try her hand in acting. I sure am glad she did, though. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper shine so magnificently bright in this generation's remake of A Star Is Born, which is also Cooper's directorial debut. This film is a wondrous achievement in not just storytelling but also in new fields of artistry for both Gaga and Cooper. I have not personally cried at the end of a film for quite a long time, but the sheer talent that radiated between these two definitely got to me.
The most obvious part of this film that stood out to me the most was the chemistry and performances from the entire cast. Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott, and even Dave Chappelle were all incredible in their roles. Gaga and Cooper were the two standout stars of this film, and especially Lady Gaga. She portrayed Ally, the small-time aspiring singer, amazingly and brought so much energy and passion to the character. This was my biggest point of surprise throughout the film was Gaga's jaw-dropping performance. We all knew that she has the voice of an angel and that she is an incredible person, but to show her talents as an actress absolutely blew me away.
Gaga's chemistry with Cooper's character Jackson was fantastic as well. Every single time that those two had a scene together, it felt so raw and believable, as if they were not even acting at all. This film will definitely earn these two some nominations this coming February and I would not be surprised if they won. Sam Elliott and Dave Chappelle were great in this film too. Elliott played Bobby, Jackson's older brother, and their scenes together were great as well and brought a good sibling relationship to the movie. As for Chappelle, he played George, a friend of Jackson's who helps him through his alcohol and drug problem. Chappelle's role was only minor and for a few scenes, but he fit the character surprisingly well and I was pleased by his performance.
Technical pieces that I loved include the cinematography and the soundtrack. I have had Shallow stuck in my head since I've seen this film and I would not have it any other way. Gaga lends her angelic voice to the music of the film, as does Cooper. Seeing her out of her typical costumes and style was obviously off-putting but we all know that she doesn't need them in order to be an absolute icon. Her voice was unbelievable and paired with Cooper's very nicely. A Star Is Born was Cooper's directorial debut as well as Gaga's feature film debut and they both owned these. The direction was amazing and I was impressed by Cooper's use of the camera. I noticed how a "shaky cam" technique was utilized during the two protagonists' most important points of their career. For Jackson, it was in the opening scene as he was playing a concert and later met Ally. For Ally, it was on her SNL performance and breakout on the stage with Jackson. Small details like these are so powerful to me and I loved how Cooper used them. Even though the passing of time throughout the movie was a bit confusing and the narrative flow was not entirely clear, the story completely made up for that.
The writing in this movie from Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters was great too. The story of Jackson being an alcoholic and drug addict falling in love with an up-and-coming singer was fairly generic but was told so eloquently. The most interesting relationship was between Jackson and Ally and seeing how their lives changed together. While Jackson struggled with alcoholism and his own personal demons, we see Ally rising to fame and her career taking off. This dynamic of one going up while the other goes down was the most riveting part of these characters and their marriage. I especially loved Ally's background and how she worked in a drag bar, as this provided a lot of humorous expository scenes. The only aspect that I wish would have been given more focus was Jackson's mental health struggles. The side of him that fought with alcohol and drug addiction took center stage for his character, but I wish that more of his writing was focused on his mental development. I do not think it touched on mental health as much as it could have, especially for today's social climate.
A Star Is Born is an excellent tale of love, loss, and redemption that utilizes two of the biggest stars in today's culture to create an absolutely beautiful film. I have nothing but praise for this movie as I am still in awe at how incredible Gaga and Cooper were in their roles, especially the former. While I have not seen any of the original iterations, I hold a firm belief that this will be one of my favorite musical films of all time.
My Rating: ★★★★½
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