Wanted to love it, but fell short

Rating: 7/10 (4 October 2018)

The acting is nuanced and believable; Bradley as the aging, alcoholic musician and Gaga as the up-and-comer. The singing by them both was great! But, that's where the appeal ended for me. The story lacked telling parts, and I felt like they tried to force it a bit at the end; as if that one final conversation between Ally's manager and Jackson was the turning point. I didn't buy it. Also, Bradley and Gaga's chemistry, while believable as friends, didn't look at all to me like romantic chemistry. They did seem very comfortable with each other, which came across on screen. I went prepared to bawl my brains out, and didn't find it all that sad. The best scenes in the movie were between Bradley and Sam Elliott. Sam should get a best supporting actor nomination at the Oscars, for sure, as should Bradley Cooper for best actor. The dramatic scenes seemed chopped off too soon and I was left wanting more. Even the concert scenes were short, barely showing a whole song (except for the first scene where she sings the now iconic song from the film). Jackson and Ally's one fight in the film seemed to come out of nowhere. The 70s version, although a bit long, played the relationship out and I felt I understood them better. Norman Howard was the man who knew he was never good enough for Ester and was self-sabotaging, trying to push her away. I didn't feel that same struggle within Jackson Maine's character. It fell short for me, and I just couldn't give it an A.