A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper‘s directorial debut, is the third remake of the 1937 film of the same name—versions were made in 1954 and 1976 with Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand, respectively. And it’s easy to see why it’s been adapted so many times. The story is truly timeless. However, for this version, Cooper updated the story to mostly success to comment on the modern era of stardom. And as a director, he is assured in style and commands the film visually, even when the story gets away from him.
A Star is Born opens with a first act that is nothing less than electrifying. We begin with rock n’ roll country star Jackson Maine (Cooper) as he plays in front of an eager crowd—the concert scenes were filmed in front of an actual audience at Coachella—riffing on his guitar with ease. Then we cut to Ally (Lady Gaga), a waitress by day and performer at a drag bar by night—the queens (including Shangela and Willem Belli) were so impressed with her voice they allowed her to be a part of their show. Stripped down and de-glammed, Gaga maintains her pop star glow while hiding it under self-doubt. She’s quite good.
Eventually, she meets Jackson, hunting for a drink after his gig, in a classic meet cute. The chemistry between the pair is incredible. One of the great assets of having an actor turned director is the ability to understand how to get great performances out of their actors. Cooper does it throughout. Over one boozy and raucous night the pair essentially fall in love. The energy is kinetic. It’s perfectly paced switching effortlessly between high-energy and comedic scenes to softer introspective ones. A standout scene is one that takes place in front of a grocery store as Ally performs one of her songs for Jackson.
Soon after their night together, Jackson summons Ally to one of his concerts and perform the duet “Shallow” on stage. It’s a charged scene that’s stunning to watch and makes the case for Lady Gaga in the role. She’s magnetic and emotes best through song—she’s more rocky with dialogue. Still, it’s a great film debut performance that is certain to earn her some Oscar attention.
From there, the pair hops from place to place performing more and more songs and falling deeper and deeper in love. Soon, Rez (Rafi Gavron), a music producer takes notice of Ally and offers to help make her a star—and that he does. Soon she’s on the rise recording a full album—closer to Gaga’s mainstream pop that the country rock that we’ve heard in the movie so far—performing on SNL, and even being nominated for Grammys. All the while, Jackson’s star begins to fade as he slips deeper and deeper into drug and alcohol addiction.
Cooper has never turned in a more nuanced and emotionally grounded performance than this. Jackson’s deterioration is heartbreaking. However, the film itself doesn’t do the storyline justice. The pacing, which was such a strong suit during the first act, becomes the film’s enemy in its middle section. It feels as if there was a longer version of the movie that was hacked up to fit into an already robust 137 minute running time. The result is a film that starts and stops too much to connect with. However, digressions with Jackson’s brother Bobby (Sam Elliott) and friend Noodles (Dave Chappelle) are welcome digressions.
Thankfully, the final act finds its way back to the electrifying roots of the beginning and allows Cooper to turn in some of the best scenes his career. And stylistically he captures the wrought moments of Jackson’s addiction and recovery in increasingly interesting and cinematic ways. It all culminates in a final scene and shot that makes a great case for Lady Gaga as a movie star (and eventual Oscar nominee) as she performs the showstopping 11 o’clock number “I’ll Never Love Again”.
A Star is Born is best when it forgets what it’s trying to be about and is just about the relationship at its core. Nothing more. When it occupies that space—like in front of the grocery store, on stage, at the piano, in a bar—the movie soars. Cooper and Gaga make a stunning onscreen pair and the ensemble, particularly Anthony Ramos and Andrew Dice Clay as Ally’s friend and father respectively, really shine. Cooper seems to be following in the footsteps of fellow actor turned director Clint Eastwood—he’s worked with him on American Sniper and The Mule—and his talents as a director seem similar. Though it’s flawed, A Star is Born is still an exciting directorial debut for Cooper who is assured a long and healthy career in Hollywood.
A Star is Born is now playing in wide release.
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