When one star fades, another one rises and shines. That is the underlining theme of
A Star Is Born, an American musical romantic drama film directed by, produced, co-written and starring Bradley Cooper in the main role with Lady Gaga as his co-star. Cooper's film serves as being the third remake of the original 1937 film of the same title, followed by the 1954 remake, and the 1976 version which starred Kris Kristofferson and Barbara Streisand in the main roles. Originally, the project was supposed to be helmed by Clint Eastwood with Beyonce in the main role with various actors in the running for Cooper's role such as Leonardo Dicaprio, Christian Bale, Tom Cruise, and Will Smith with Jennifer Lopez up for Beyonce's part, which later went to Lady Gaga. The project ultimately was picked up by Bradley Cooper, who signed onto star and direct it with Lady Gaga joining the cast afterwards. The film ended up being a huge commercial success making over $434 million worldwide and opening to critical acclaim that landed it a spot on the American Film Institute's Best Movies of 2018 list as well as receiving a total of 8 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor for Cooper, Best Actress for Gaga, a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Sam Elliot, with a Best Song Oscar win for Gaga's "Shallow". Looking at the actual film, it's no secret as to why the film received such critical and box office acclaim,
A Star Is Born is extremely well-performed, written, directed, and hard-hitting with its tragic romance, that also serves as being inspirational in a sense that as one person's star fades in terms of stature, they help another reach their full potential despite facing their own personal demons.
The plot for
A Star Is Born focuses on a fading rock and country music star (Played impressively well by Bradley Cooper), battling alcoholism as he comes across a beautiful young singer and songwriter (Played beautifully by Lady Gaga) with great star potential, but carries with her insecurities in regards to her looks and abilities. The two begin a romantic relationship with him helping her boost to fame status, despite their romance hitting serious obstacles in regards to her rising stature and his battle with alcoholism. Any of the audience members who've seen the previous versions of this story know that the love story ends in tragedy going into the new film. The film as brilliantly well put together as it is, deals with a culmination of themes regarding stardom, envy, love, lifting each other up, believing in oneself, struggle with alcoholism, addiction, money, grudges, substance abuse, and defining what beauty is ultimately. One can simply say that the romance in
A Star Is Born serves as being a roller-coaster ride of emotions as the audience cares when Cooper and Gaga's characters are happy together, and get sad and frustrated when seeing them struggle with Cooper's character Jack's substance abuse issues playing a big part of the downfall of their relationship. On the surface, it may seem that their love story is a dysfunctional one due to the verbal abuse both characters share as well as the excessive drinking, but deep within the core of their relationship lies a powerful message about one person on the last leg of their career essentially using what's left of their talent and resources to uplift the other person, whose star is just rising making it one helluva romantic gesture. The film is not so much about the alcoholism and substance abuse issues the main characters showcase throughout the film, the story is about two people with common ground, who are music stars meeting each other, growing connected, aligning their careers and talents together, and for the time that they do spend together, try and uplift each other to shine brightly before one star ultimately fades for the other to shine. The film is about love and giving someone a chance to express themselves in the way they know how to do so best. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga make for a dynamic romantic duo, who share a great deal of burning and passionate chemistry on the screen while bringing out the best in each other in terms of both acting and singing performances
One of the key elements to the success of the 2018 remake is the performances of its cast. Not only does Bradley Cooper do a fantastic directing job, he's terrific in the main role as country singer Jack, showing charisma in the role while making it convincing that his character is completely in love with Gaga's character Ally even to the point of envying her with the more famous she gets. He also does well with brilliantly depicting his characters internal struggles in regards to his substance abuse, his battle with alcoholism, and ultimately feeling like he's a burden on those he cares about (Particularly Gaga and Sam Elliot's characters for example). Cooper also demonstrates great versatile range with his singing duties in the film. Lady Gaga shines and surprises in her first feature-length film performance. One knew that she was talented as a singer but didn't realize how much talent she possessed as an actress. She's terrific here and conveys all the right emotions the part required such as being a young woman with dreams, but also holds insecurities deep down. The audience cares about her as she rises to stardom while struggling with the harsh realities of being famous. She gives an emotionally powerful performance that comes across as being strong, deep, and personal. The chemistry she shares with Cooper is spot on with both doing such fantastic and likable jobs playing their characters that audiences can't help but become emotionally connected with them. In terms of supporting roles, Sam Elliot does a great job playing Bobby Maine, the white-haired, manager and brother of Cooper's character Jackson Maine, who always seems to be tasked with forever cleaning up after his younger half-brothers mess when he gets drunk. Elliot's character provides the perfect balance between the three main actors as Cooper and Gaga work perfectly together as equals with Elliot's character providing the strong supporting role needed to round out the main cast. Together, the trio as a whole deliver performances of a lifetime, that are all deserving of their Oscar nominations. Had any of these roles been switched with someone else playing them, the film wouldn't have turned out to be as good as it ended up being with their involvement.
In terms of the films directing and writing, Bradley Cooper does a fantastic job helming his first directorial project. With
A Star Is Born, he keeps the camera steady and allows the performances to do much of the work in terms of driving the film. What could've easily ended up being a bland and tired old remake, is given a fresh retelling for a new generation of audiences while remaining deeply affecting thanks to Cooper's skills as a director. The fact that he was wrongfully snubbed of a Best Director nomination for his work on the film is a tragedy as he crafts a moving story about making it to the top in the music industry, while experiencing the challenges and downfall of fame. He does a brilliant job of setting up the characters and the story in the films first half with the fear factor of stardom being beautifully conveyed through Ally's character. Cooper shapes and molds the story around Lady Gaga's performance while utilizing both her musical and acting talents as a vital asset to the stories success. Coopers work as both the co-writer and director of the film, showcases pure craftsmanship as he keeps the film grounded in reality with his method of directing while making the character of Ally almost feel like a personal reflection of Lady Gaga's own life. The films cinematography is top notch making the film engaging to watch visually like a young girls dream of becoming a star being turned into reality with the films music being incredible, particularly the sequence in which Cooper and Gaga's character perform "Shallow". Not only is the song well-written and performed, but it literally feels like Gaga puts her soul into it. Given that the story is centered around an era where people can become stars over night due to digital technology on their phones, Cooper does a beautiful job of bringing both realism and sincerity to a story that not only feels genuine, but hits hard with its emotional climax.
As well-done of a film as the 2018 remake of
A Star Is Born turned out to be, it ultimately wasn't the film to take home the Academy Award for Best Picture (That distinct honor went to
Green Book). While there was certainly stronger films up there for consideration on the Best Picture list, it doesn't make the impact that the story has on audiences any less real or powerful. The difference between this version of the story and the previous remakes, is that despite the previous ones feeling more Hollywood, this version makes audiences believe that they are seeing these characters and story happening before their own eyes. While some audiences may be turned off by the substance abuse nature of the story, others will take notice of the films deep message regarding ones desire to make their dreams become a reality. That and the films relationship at its core is the heart and soul of the story, keeping the audience invested in the movie while wanting Jack and Ally to succeed as a couple in the music industry despite their obstacles. Every so often, Hollywood puts two leads together in a love story, that are so effective they literally create magic on the screen. With Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga,
A Star Is Born carries that magic and charm, which makes the whole experience feel like lightning in a bottle for both actors involved. The film is not just a solid romantic drama, its a shocking revelation of how talented its two main stars are compared to what audiences previously thought. One of 2018's most surprising and strongest filmmaking achievements, that deserves both its financial and critical reception. It's rare to find a Hollywood remake that not only lives up to the expectations placed upon it to match its predecessor, but also be surprising. This one however lives up to the hype and is worthy of its title.
Final Verdict: For Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga fans,
A Star Is Born Is A Must See.
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