A Star Is Born

Dir: Bradley Cooper

2018

****

Even though the original 1937 A Star Is Born and its 1954 and 1976 remakes have all been nominated for at least four Academy Awards each, a 2018 version still seemed like a risky idea. If I’m being honest, when I first heard of it I thought it was a terrible idea, one that I had zero interest in. Clint Eastwood was attached to the project in 2011 and was in talks to direct Beyoncé in his version but thankfully it fell through. Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp and Will Smith were all set to star but it is hard to imagine anyone other than Bradley Cooper in the role. Cooper threw everything he had into the film and it became a passion project and his directional debut. It’s a hell of a debut. Casting Lady Gaga was a stroke of genius and she also threw herself into the project. Cooper and Gaga’s performances were closer to that of Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand’s than Janet Gaynor and Fredric March’s or Judy Garland and James Mason’s but their’s isn’t a copy, just part of the evolution of the characters. An updated version could have been something truly awful, somewhere between The X-Factor and Pop Idol but thankfully the tired talent contest storyline was nowhere to be seen and the music was real, rather than plastic bubblegum pop. I have no problem with Beyoncé but she doesn’t write her own songs, while Lady Gaga has been writing for years. Love her or hate her (I personally love her) Lady Gaga is a talented writer and has been or quite some time. She knows the story as she has seen it first hand and it is clear that between her, Cooper and writers Eric Roth and Will Fetters, this was a passonate team effort. It was Lady Gaga who convinced Cooper that they should sing live. Gaga said she hated watching movies where the actors were not lip-syncing correctly to the songs, so to avoid this and get it right they needed to sing live for the film. Cooper agreed and went through extensive vocal training. While Cooper might not have had much experience singing, he could relate in some respects to his character. Like Jack, Cooper dealt with both alcohol and drug addiction. He has spoken publicly about how sobriety saved both his life and career, and his character Jack, and the script, have a part of him inside them. I didn’t know what to make of the film and I only saw it once it was released on DVD, after many people recommended it to me. I liked how it was filmed instantly but it was the La Vie en Rose that won me over. Cooper plays Jackson Maine, a famous country music singer privately battling an alcohol and drug addiction. After he plays a concert in California, he asks his reliable driver to take him to a bar. Not knowing the area but tiring of the traffic, Jack gets out of the car and walks into the first place he sees; a drag bar with live music. Happy to just drink his whiskey, the club’s promoter recognises him and sits him at the bar where he can see his friend perform. Ally (Gaga), a waitress and singer-songwriter, comes on stage and performs an incredible version of La Vie en Rose, walking across the audience and lying on the bar at the back of the venue, directly in front of a besotted Jack. Jack is amazed by her performance, and they spend the rest of the night talking to each other, where Ally discloses to him the troubles she has faced in pursuing a professional music career. Jack invites Ally to his next show, although she doesn’t quite believe him. Despite her initial refusal she attends and, with Jack's encouragement, sings on stage with him. Jack then invites Ally to go on tour with him, and they form a romantic relationship. In Arizona, Ally and Jack visit the ranch where Jack grew up and where his father is buried, only to discover that his brother and manager Bobby (played by the brilliant Sam Elliott), has sold the land. Angered at his betrayal, Jack punches Bobby, who subsequently quits as his manager. Before doing so, Bobby reveals that he did inform Jack about the sale, but the latter was too inebriated to notice. It is clear that Bobby is the one who raised Jack and has kept him on the straight an narrow as best he could but also takes the brunt of his anger. While on tour Ally meets Rez, a record producer who offers her a contract. Although visibly bothered, Jack still supports her decision. Rez refocuses Ally away from country music and towards pop. Jack misses one of Ally's performances after he passes out drunk in public; he recovers at the home of his best friend George "Noodles" Stone (Dave Chappelle), and later makes up with Ally. There he proposes to Ally with an impromptu ring made from a loop of guitar string and they are married that same day at a church nearby. During Ally's performance on Saturday Night Live, Bobby reconciles with Jack. Later, Jack and Ally fight after he drunkenly voices his disapproval of Ally's new image and music, which is nominated for three Grammy Awards. At the Grammys, a visibly intoxicated Jack performs in a tribute to Roy Orbison, and Ally wins the Best New Artist award. In what is a rather cringeworthy but important scene, Ally goes up on stage to receive her award, Jack follows her, where he promptly wets himself before passing out. Ally's father Lorenzo berates Jack and Ally helps him sober up. Jack joins a rehabilitation program shortly thereafter. Jack recovers in rehab for about two months, where he discloses to his counselor that he attempted suicide when he was 13 years old. He also mentions that he has tinnitus, which has been getting worse. He tearfully apologizes to Ally for his behavior, and returns home. Ally wishes to bring Jack to perform with her on the European leg of her tour; Rez refuses, prompting Ally to cancel the remainder of the tour so she can care for Jack. Rez later confronts Jack, accusing him of holding Ally back. That evening, Ally lies to Jack, and tells him that her record label has cancelled her tour so she can focus on her second album. Jack promises that he will come to her concert that night, but after Ally leaves, he hangs himself in their garage. Ally becomes inconsolable after Jack's death. She is visited by Bobby, who explains Jack's death was Jack's own fault and not hers. Ally takes a song that Jack had written but never performed and sings it at a tribute concert, introducing herself as Ally Maine. Now this sort of thing never usually effects me but this film did. The characters weren’t too far from the actors portraying them and their passion made them feel real. Add the fact that so many of the performances were filmed at real concerts, and the whole story becomes utterly convincing. The characters and story are also partly based on real people, so every emotion is felt as if it were true. The songs are brilliant, and even if they’re not your usual cup of tea, they are somehow universal enough for everyone to appreciate. This is a very contemporary musical that somehow still obeys all of the rules. The original story is clearly timeless when understood and treated properly, which it has been here. It’s a great musical for people who think they don’t like musicals and a great drama for those who still insist that they don’t.