'A Star Is Born' A Review

A Star Is Born is the fourth iteration of this musical drama about an aging alcoholic roots rock musician Jackson(Bradley Cooper) who discovers talented unknown Ally(Lady Gaga) in a drag club. He takes her under his wing professionally and concurrently the two begin a romance. As his star fades, her's rises.

There are two stand-out performances in this mostly derivative Oscar hopeful. Lady Gaga who's musical abilities are beyond question but who's acting chops were as yet untested. She delivers decisively on both counts. Providing a magnetic, emotional, strong lead performance balanced perfectly with her thrilling, goosebump inducing musical numbers. Same Elliot as Jackson's brother and road manager Bobby gives a masterful and all too brief turn, conveying oceans with looks, short sentences, and only the occasional scene. Writer, director, star Cooper puts on a startlingly distracting "character voice" and seems to be swept up in the ecstasy of his own creation and forgets to focus his performance. Some of the major issues are in the foundation of the film, the script, but Cooper's breezy portrayal seems to rely more on the aforementioned voice and the creative mythologizing of alcoholism rather than actual acting.

The first half of the film which focuses on Gaga and the titular birth of her star is quite compelling and the chemistry between the two leads is decent enough to skate by. The second half of the film shifts the focus to Cooper's character and the story quickly falls apart. The focus is scattered, it attempts to tell the story of an addict(at least it regurgitates the "romantic" untruths fostered by Hollywood and is quite frankly dangerous as well as dishonest in its implications), the rise of a star, the fall of a star, the selling out of a star(there is some sophomoric criticism of pop music that is incredibly odd and tone deaf given who Gaga is), and the tragedy of stardom. But in attempting all these things, again most incorrectly and irresponsibly addiction, it fails to successfully deliver on any of them.

For a film so filled with promise and talent it suffers from the most obvious pitfall(for a story in its fourth iteration) predictability, rote hollow story arcs. And given the current cultural conversations going on the fact that the power dynamics, the possible manipulation, the conceivably tit-for-tat "romance" we see on screen isn't acknowledge let alone delved into is astonishing. The ending especially is not only uncompelling and fails narratively its offensive in its portrayal of addiction. It bastardizes a very serious and exceedingly difficult to treat illness, which has reached epidemic levels in the past decade, not only for dramatic catharsis but failed dramatic catharsis at that.

Watch Gaga in the first 80 minutes then shut it off or just listen to the soundtrack.

Don't See It.