A Star is Born

Rating: 8/10 (7 October 2018)

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga's breathtaking performances throughout this movie truly capture and put on display how having fame and the spotlight on you are not as glorious as it may seem. A Star is Born tells the story of the fall of musician Jackson Maine, played by Bradley Cooper, and the rise of Ally, played by Lady Gaga, by following both of them through their progressing careers.
This film is quick to introduce Jackson Maine as a very successful and well-known musician, who has an extremely serious problem with substance abuse. After his show, Maine runs out of liquor. While searching for more he happens to make his way to a cross dressing bar that features live musical performances. This is where Maine first comes in contact with Ally, where he witnesses her performing a French song. Amazed by her performance, Jackson Maine asks Ally to join him for a drink. This leads to our main characters ending up in a cop bar, where Ally introduces a drunk officer to her fist. A relatively intoxicated Jackson Maine then prepares her an ice pack comprised of frozen peas and gauze. This incident is where the two characters chemistry really starts to come to life.
While Ally and Jackson's relationship had its highpoints, it brought a lot of complexity to both of their lives. Ally starts to find success and fame around the same time that Jackson's own career starts to burn out and spiral downwards. While his own career is fading, Jackson just cannot escape his own inner demons. His struggle with drugs and alcohol continues to grow worse and worse. At one of his lowest points, Jackson finds himself passed out on stage, while Ally is supposed to be accepting an award. This incident is one of the many factors that lands Jackson in rehab. When it appears that Jackson's life had made somewhat of a U turn, he has a tense discussion with Ally's manager. Her manager is very firm on the idea that Jackson is nothing, but dead weight for Ally and her career. This is what appears to be the final nail in Jackson Maine's coffin. While Ally is away at the final concert of her tour, Jackson commits suicide by hanging himself in his garage with a belt, which is something he alludes to earlier in the film.
This movie truly does a great job of telling a love story full of pain, addiction, tragedy, and fame. The movie has great music, but the on-screen chemistry of Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga is what truly makes this film special. While there are so many great things about this film, there are a couple not so great things also. This film was pretty long, over two hours, and it seemed like there could have been a couple scenes that the movie could have gone without.
While this movie was full of key events to the plot, the timeline was somewhat hard to follow. This film seems like it could have stretched six months or six years. Ally's fame appeared to come very quickly. At one point she was just a guest singing on stage with Jackson, but next thing you know she is performing on Saturday Night Live, which is hosted by Alec Baldwin, and planning on going on tour across Europe.
Overall, this is a great film that reels the viewer in and keeps their attention for a strong majority of the film. The casting is phenomenal. The sound track is full of songs that I would not hesitate to throw into the rotation of music that I listen to on a regular basis. This is certainly a film that you should keep your eyes out for during the awards season this upcoming Winter.