A Star is Born (2018)

 

Ally is a waitress with aspirations to be a singer-songwriter.  One night she is performing an Edith Piaf number at a local drag bar, she is spotted by country rock superstar Jackson Maine.

Maine is struck by Ally's powerful vocals and stage presence.  It doesn't hurt that he finds her easy on the eyes, as well.  The two go on an impromptu, rather rambling date, where Ally sings some of the lyrics she has written.

This new relationship with Ally, and the energy she brings to his life, his music and his tour, revitalises Jackson at a time when his alcohol and drug problems were beginning to damage his career.  The two fall in love, get married, and make beautiful music together.

But as Ally's star begins to glow ever brighter, Jackson feels the shadows creeping back.  Can Ally's light really keep his darkness at bay, and what will be the repercussions for her, if it can't?

This is the fourth filmed version of A Star is Born, and the third to be set in the music industry (in the original, the setting was Hollywood itself).  It's not technically a musical - no-one narrates their feelings or provides plot exposition via song - but music is definitely an integral part of the story.  And on that front, it is a triumph.  The smash hit "Shallow" is clearly the stand-out number, and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide, but all of the original songs, principally written by the film's two main stars in collaboration with Lukas Nelson, are impactful and memorable.  They are a key part of the movie's success as a work of entertainment.

The casting is also excellent.  For me, Lady Gaga was a real revelation as she proved more than capable of holding her own as a Hollywood leading actor.  I can see from IMDB that it was not her first role, but it does seem to be the first on this kind of scale, and she looks entirely at home.

The rest of the cast is also good.  Bradley Cooper does a good job of making Jackson Maine into a flawed man, bordering on a screw-up, while still remaining sympathetic.  Sam Elliott is as dependable as always.  Perhaps the biggest surprise outside of Lady Gaga was seeing former shock comedian Andrew Dice Clay turn up as Ally's father, Lorenzo.  Apparently this is a role that Robert De Niro was interested in, and I have to say that as good as De Niro is, I don't think the film lost anything at all by using Clay.

If I were to make one complaint about the film - and it's me, so I will almost always find at least one complaint to make - its that the narrative ultimately centres Jackson more than Ally.  Despite the fact that Ally is the bright new star, and the one on the rise, the film is much more about how her arrival and ascent impacts Jackson, than on Ally's experience.  When this story gets filed for the fifth time - which is almost certainly will, though perhaps not in my lifespan - I hope that we finally get a version that centres the female character's experiences and ambitions.

That one quibble aside, however, this is an exceptionally well-made film.  It's not as emotionally powerful on the second and subsequent viewings as the first, but few things are.

Well worth seeing.