A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born (2018)

Bradley Cooper takes the helm here in his directorial debut, he also co-produced and co-wrote the screenplay. This is the third rendition of the original 1937 film. It was adapted into a 1954 musical (starring Judy Garland and James Mason) and remade as a 1976 rock musical with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. This film was in the works since 2011 when Clint Eastwood was set to direct with Beyonce lined up to star. In 2016 both Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga joined the film.

We start A Star Is Born with Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) on stage belting out a performance to tens of thousands of fans. Maine is a grizzle-voiced, hard-drinking, pill-addicted veteran performer who only seems to be fully functioning whilst on stage. On the way from the concert (as Maine had run out of booze in the car) he gets his driver to drop him at a random bar where he is captivated by a performance by Ally (Lady Gaga). After a night of heavy drinking (with some fighting mixed in) Maine takes it on himself to mentor Ally and so while they both try to battle their demons…. A Star Is Born.

I’ve not seen any of the other versions of this film so I can’t compare them but it’s difficult for me to see how any of them could match up to this. It is a beautifully made film. Cooper’s directing is a different class, there were some shots that had me holding my breath. Brilliantly brave work for a debut director. I loved the look of this movie, the director of photography (Matthew Libatique) has a great back catalogue – he was also the cinematographer of ‘Black Swan’, ‘Requiem for A Dream’, and ‘Mother!’. He mostly uses natural lights and films a lot with handheld cameras which reflect a sense of reality in this movie.

The acting on show is amazing, the two leads are brilliant. This is the best I’ve ever seen Cooper, and Gaga is not left in the dark. She is as good as she teases to be in the trailers, every single nuance is believable in this heartfelt role. While Cooper is first billed, this is absolutely a partnership. The chemistry between him and Gaga is palpable. I immediately felt for both of these characters and was wishing for the (inevitable) bad times to not visit them. Also I have to mention Sam Elliott who supports as Bobby Maine, Jackson’s older brother and manager. Sam Elliot is possibly the coolest person drawing breath on this earth at the moment, and this turn just makes his stock more valuable. There are two scenes with him in that had me in awe of his talents … and one of them was just a look. Top class!

The soundtrack is pretty awesome too and will be stuck in your head for days after, with Gaga and even Cooper helping to write some of the songs. Cooper also learnt to play the guitar for the role.

Oscar season is just getting underway but if there are not nominations for all three of the above mentioned people then I may have to give up on the Academy.

I wanted to re-watch this film within an hour of it finishing.

The best film I’ve seen this year so far.