Director
Bradley Cooper

Stars
Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott and Andrew Dice Clay

In his directorial debut, Bradley Cooper has brought life to a fourth incarnation of A Star Is Born. Having some big shoes to fill, Lady Gaga steps into the ‘starring’ role and as did the likes of Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland before her, she really shines bright.  For the most part, the film oozes a certain charm, and the chemistry between Cooper and Gaga is a real highlight, however there are times where the story seems to lack a little detail which could have really made this an amazing achievement.

A Star Is Born tells the story of a drug and alcohol addled fading rock star, Jackson Maine (Cooper), whose spark is reignited by a disenchanted young ingénue, Ally (Gaga). Ally has had her dreams of musical stardom cruelled by a slew of superficial music producers, uninspired by her imperfect looks. When she crosses paths with the troubled Maine, her life is changed irreparably by the man who sees all of her talent and beauty, and wants the world to hear what she has to say. The connection between the two is obvious, and Cooper and Gaga really do seem to work well together on screen. What transpires over the next two thirds of the film is a rise and fall of two individuals, the shifting of power and stardom, and some of the best original music we’ve heard in a film in quite some time.

The music if definitely the hero piece of A Star Is Born. There are a number of songs that are poignant and meaningful, and I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve purchased a number of them on iTunes myself (yeah, I still do that). Gaga herself had a hand in writing many of the songs on the soundtrack, including the more memorable ‘Shallow’, ‘Always Remember Us This Way’ and ‘I’ll Never Love Again’.  The audience knows what they’re getting with Gaga, but the vocals of Bradley Cooper were surprisingly astounding; he certainly was authentic in his representation of seasoned singer.

Cooper’s direction was solid and impressive. The decision to remove all makeup from Gaga in the early parts of the film were inspired, as it wasn’t easy to turn one of the most showy singers in the music industry into a believably common girl from the suburbs. The acting from not only Cooper and Gaga, but the supporting cast of Andrew Dice Clay as Ally’s Father and Sam Elliott as Jackson’s older brother, was fantastic. There was an effortless charm that carried throughout the entire film, and a genuine sense of care for the characters stories. The only down side to the direction was perhaps the lack of detail at times. The relationship development between Jackson and Ally seemed to happen almost instantaneously, and a little more time put into that would have benefited the film and perhaps explained a little better the unwavering loyalty Ally had to Jackson, even when his demons were spiralling out of control.

If A Star Is Born were a sports match, I’d say it was a solid three-quarter effort. The first half was solid, the third quarter a little ‘meh’ and it came home strong for the win. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Cooper and Gaga in contention come the awards season, even though its release would generally seem a little premature. Whilst it’s perhaps not as amazing as it could have been with a few little tweaks, this Star is one that’s sure to dazzle a crowd.

4 stars

Moviedoc thanks Roadshow Films for the invite to the screening of this film.

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