A Star Is Born. Directed by Bradley Cooper. Starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. Rating: 9 (out of 10).
In an age where a star is supposedly born with every few thousand clicks of a mouse, it’s refreshing to watch people do it – and do it well – the old-fashioned way.
It’s a tale that’s been told before: in glorious technicolor in 1937; with Judy Garland and James Mason in 1954; and in 1976 with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. This latest take on a story as old as showbiz itself feels fresh under the care of first-time director Bradley Cooper, who also stars.
Of course, the only buzz that could drown out the hum surrounding Cooper’s freshman directorial effort is the big-screen debut of Lady Gaga, who gives an assured performance as an ingenue on the cusp of superstardom. (Lady Gaga herself is not quite an ingenue, having already won a Golden Globe for her work on “American Horror Story”.)
Though the film relies on two strong leads to tell the story – and this film certainly delivers – it’s seasoned actor Cooper who wows. Drunk from the opening frame, he’s convincing enough that I wondered how he could manage to focus behind the camera. You can almost smell the hooch oozing out of his pores, so much so that the once Sexiest Man Alive cover boy is all but unbeddable as Jackson. (Now that’s acting!)
Cooper plays Jackson Maine, an artist who has already found glory: he can pack a stadium full of adoring fans singing along to his hit songs, but he can feel that he’s no longer relevant: he’s weary of the road, the stage, the whole damn thing. Jackson finds solace in his liquor, and not much else.
An emergency pit-stop for more booze draws Jackson into a drag bar. That’s where he sees and hears Ally (Lady Gaga), the one non-drag performer of the night, who is all pancake makeup, teased hair, and false brows… foils for an astounding voice. He asks her for a drink and she returns, transformed into an ordinary person, which only makes her voice more remarkable.
Ally is awed, but not enough so that she’ll coddle Jackson through his bouts of self-loathing or get on the back of his motorcycle when he’s drunk. The two begin a relationship which is doomed from the start; because as Ally’s star rises, Jackson’s drinking increases. Is it Ally’s success he resents, or is it the fact that he’s unable to save himself? The price of her education is his self-destruction.
There are a few beautiful moments when it all comes together: when Jackson and older brother Sam Elliot share a moment, for example, or in the brotherhood between Jackson and long-suffering friend Noodles (Dave Chappelle). Credit Cooper for his thoughtful direction, and an old-fashioned yet nuanced script co-written by Cooper, Will Fetters and Eric Roth
The musical performances tie in seamlessly with the storyline (in contrast to the Streisand ballads in the 1976 version, which felt incongruous to the shaggy esthetic elsewhere in the film); you won’t be tempted to check your phone or dash to the restroom during the musical numbers until the story starts up again. Several key lyrics in songs like “I’ll Never Love Again” and “Shallow” all but give the ending away.
But see the film for Cooper’s soulful performance alone. Anyone paying attention to Cooper’s rise from the frat-boy antics of Wedding Crashers to fine performances in American Sniper, American Hustle, and Silver Linings Playbook (to name a few) won’t be surprised, just pleasantly impressed. Part tear-jerking love story, part Cinderella rock story, part immersive concert experience, A Star Is Born is not to be missed.
