A Star is Born
Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut dazzles the mind and put forth the idea that talent simply, is not enough. With stunning writing and performances by any of the leads that have the potential to rip out your soul anytime Cooper feels it’s necessary, this movie is already an early contender for many Oscar’s.
It’s a story that has been told before. Originally created for the screen in 1937, it had already been remade three times before the 2018 version. But this new edition does something new in that it begins the movie in media res. Which is to say, in the middle. The film starts with Jackson Maine (Played by Director Bradley Cooper) on stage performing in front of a crowd of thousands, each and every one of them chanting his name. Before we even see him play the guitar, Jack takes a sip of some alcoholic beverage. It’s immediately established that he has a drinking problem and this struggle is a strong theme that is continued throughout the movie. After the show, we find Jack in a car being driven by a chauffeur, and once he runs out of whatever bottle of whiskey he brought into the car with him, his conversation turns to asking his chauffeur where the nearest bar is. At the same time Ally (Played by Stefani Germanotta also known as Lady Gaga) is working as a waiter who moonlights as a singer at a Drag club. It’s noted that she’s the only “girl” that’s allowed to sing at the club. And it’s also noted that it doesn’t seem like the kind of place that famous country singer Jackson Maine would visit. Or at least so says the starstruck bouncer that lets him in right before Ally goes on stage. What follows is a gorgeous rendition of La Vie En Rose, as we see the movies two main characters immediately fall in love.
They wouldn’t admit it to each other right away, they spend the rest of that night together, finding another bar, and getting into a fight with some off-duty cops before retiring to a supermarket parking lot so the pair can ice their wounds with a bag of peas. It’s at this point that Ally begins to sing something that she’s coming up with on the spot. Jackson hesitates, he’s nervous, but by the end of the song he knows what she’s capable of.
It’s in this hesitation that I find the masterpiece of the film. Too many filmmakers want all of their characters to be quick-witted and impossibly snappy. But Cooper decided to go against the grain and let his characters breathe. Consistently, the audience sees Ally and Jackson think about what they’re going to say, which makes it all the more emotional when they stop thinking it through and let anger or rage take over, when they snap at each other with words that carry a cutting edge. It also feels realistic in the sense that every musical piece is actually played. That’s to say that there’s never a scene in which Ally and Jack are singing to each other and once the song is over the movie continues as if they had just spoken to each other (Notable offenders of doing this are High School Musical and La La Land.) This build an anticipation after every song, as the characters continue on in a virtual silence, and the audience has to wait until the next song is played. This also simplifies the audiences focus, as no one multitasks, they are either singing or they are talking, never both.
It’s talent that carries this movie, not only Cooper and Gaga taking the audiences breath away both as singers and actors. But as a narrative point. Jack repeatedly states “It’s not enough to have talent, you also need to have something to say.” What this movie had to say was inspirational. It doesn’t inspire one to sing, however. It inspires one to do. To follow one's dreams. To share what needs to be said from the soul. This movie doesn’t beg, but instead it calmly asks you to fall in love with it. And you’d better say yes.
