Review: A Star is Born

“A star is born again...”

Hollywood history is full of remakes and reimagining. Many remakes come and go in forgettable fashion, added nothing to the original, or not recognising the reasons the original worked in the first place and failing to emulate that. For A Star is Born, this is its fourth time around, having been in 1937 (as a story about actors, not musicians), before its famous 1954 musical remake, and then its 1976 follow up.

Bradley Cooper is on debut here as director, which is an exceptional debut, considering his lead role and musical requirements. Cooper has given us a film that changes many aspects of the originals, but keeps the essence of the story very much intact, but with a much more modern focus. The story may feel a little familiar, but it feels more like returning to a favourite meal, rather than the same old same old.

In an acting sense, Cooper stars as Jackson Maine, a fading music star who is losing a life long battle with alcoholism. Cooper is exceptional throughout the film, bringing some personal life experience to the role as well as unexpected singing ability (all the vocals were done live in the film). Cooper had to learn to play guitar for the film, and is very convincing throughout (except for a few electric guitar solos).

Lady GaGa plays Ally, a working class girl who has tried to be a singer but has been told she isn’t pretty enough by every male in the industry. She encountered world famous country singer Jackson Maine in a bar where she performed, and Maine is instantly smitten with her.

Cooper had to really fight with studio Warner Brothers to get GaGa cast in the role. Her acting skills were exceptional and she had great chemistry with Cooper.

The music in the film is sung and performed live, and it’s a great aspect of the movie that both the leads, including Cooper, feel very authentic in the role. In the same way some movies with guns have leads who clearly don’t feel comfortable with a gun, music films are really let down when their lead clearly can’t play the instrument they are playing and therefore look awkward and wrong. Its even worse when you’re in the audience and you play the instrument.

The film gives us all the glamour of the world of fame, as well as the dark sides, but in addition, it also captures a home life and normality to the characters that really helps sell the whole story. Cooper is able to realistic show Maine’s decent into alcoholism whilst keeping him a likeable character whose charm is present whenever he is sober.

The only weakness of the films story, and it was minor, but the ‘having a voice and something to say’ motif wasn’t consistent, as Ally becomes a pop star and starts performing ridiculous song and dance numbers. You feel at the end, that Ally will just continue in this vein for the rest of her career. Jackson does question this at one stage, however, much of that is swept away quickly and forgotten about. This to me felt like it could have been a much bigger part of the story, especially as this is a modern retelling of a very old story.

Bradley Cooper has taken A Star is Born in a new direction to the previous films, yet maintained the important elements of the story. The story is tragic, yet uplifting, and is certainly a cut above many of the 2018 cinematic releases. Many people will cry by the end of the film and you won’t leave the cinema and just forget the film before you get home. That’s always a sign of a good film, when you can still feel it after you’ve been away from it for some time.

The five bearded questions:

1. Was it worth a cinema trip? Yes

2. Would I See It Again at the Cinema? Yes.

3. Would I buy it on Blu-ray: (only films I really love get bought these days) No 4. Do I Recommend people see it? Yes.

5. Any cheese/ Disney style bullshit?: (such as jokes wedged in at serious moments, because fun!). No.