Bright and Hopeful at first - but Disappointing as a whole

Rating: 7/10 (3 March 2019)

I've read many cruel reviews, along with many overpraising reviews. Both calling the movie "a waste of time" or "absolutely wonderful" is an exaggeration on my part. But, it sure is hard to give this movie a full review.
The start of the movie is great especially when Jack first meets Ally singing a beautiful rendition of "La Vie en Rose". I loved the way he fell for her and the chemistry was booming at that point in the movie, along with the scene of "Shallow", which was the best scene of the movie for me. Despite the beautiful "coming out" moment of Ally, there were still some holes in the plot of the love story, and to be quite honest, it was not very believable. After he meets her, Jack takes Ally to another bar where a random man walks up to Jack, tells him he "doesn't look like his girlfriend's ex", tries to take a picture of Jack, when Ally suddenly hits him (and gets hit back). This scene in and of itself was too fast for the viewers to understand what the motive behind what the random guy said to Jack was and why Ally suddenly had the urge to hit him. To ease her bruise, Jack then takes Ally to a supermarket and buys her some peas to put on her swollen hand. They sit in the parking lot and talk, and then out of nowhere, Ally bursts into (her) song, despite already introducing her as a shy character and despite meeting Jack for just a few hours. There was just no buildup to Jack and Ally's relationship, despite the endearing Shallow performance. There was also no chemistry or solid backstory that we could hear about Jack Maine.

Even though the movie was lacking in many ways, the way Bradley directed the live performances of the movie is absolutely breathtaking (Jackson playing the guitar, damn!). it also touched upon a few important subjects in life, especially the rise of fame and how fake the whole process is for artists who want to be true to their art. Jackson hints to Ally about this after she won a Grammy, when he meant to tell her your music is not you, he tells her he felt something was wrong with her winning the grammy, unlike the feeling of success & euphoria she reached when she was on tour with Jackson. There is something empty in the process of Ally's rising to fame, since she was not being true to her art or herself; a process most artists go through. And, of course, it shows us the ugly reality of addiction & how alcohol & drugs is always a dangerous combination.
Overall, I would recommend this movie just for the first part of the movie.