A Star is Born

The guitar riffs in A Star is Born make your head bang, and Gaga’s voice makes your soul cry. Written and Directed by Hollywood star Bradley Cooper and premiering Lady Gaga’s first acting role, you would not expect it to be flawless, but it completely blows you away.

Lady Gaga pours her heart and soul into every song, making Bradley Cooper take singing lessons so they could perform live in front of real audiences, and it shows. Bohemian Rhapsody replicated past concerts with visible CGI audiences, but A Star is Born filming real people’s reactions to these original songs adds a whole new layer to the film’s immersive power.

Apart from the fantastic soundtrack, Bradley Cooper does a phenomenal job at giving the audience rich, palpable characters with heavy conflicts. Jack’s slow death in fame, partly fueled by his alcoholism, continually presents itself after every moment of success from his wife. Lady Gaga’s Ally’s self-conscious doubt persistently limits her view of her future and controls her path to find success with colorful photoshoots and suggestive dances during her concerts. Both of these characters see the faults in one another, and, depending on where they stand in their development, lift the other up or tear them to shreds. The “Hollywood” romance only happens in the beginning when they are ignoring each other’s mistakes, and reality hits them when it is too late.

Overall, what this film shows about alcoholism with the relationship of the main characters is heart wrenching and real. Jack and Ally raise this film to its Oscar-worthy quality, both in Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s unparalleled performances and the reality of their development. The human snippets from the supporting characters elevate the story even higher. Sam Elliot and Dave Chapelle are fantastic; their characters give fragments of Jack’s past, desperately pushing for him to have a future. The first thirty minutes is a singer’s dream come true, but the rest of the film evolves with the reality of the underbelly in the singing industry. I was immersed with Ally experiencing her dream, and I was blown away by what happened afterwards. Throughout her journey, the audience knows what words engage her and push her away, and they are sometimes coming from the same line of dialogue with potential publishers to where she doubles down on her weakness to further her fame. Each time she gains another step towards where she wants to go, Jack unknowingly pulls her two steps back. When she fully realizes who she can be at the end, it is a sensational final song that is so soaked in passion and sadness for both Lady Gaga and the audience that we know it is at that moment a star is truly born.

Story Rating: 9/10

Character Rating: 10/10