Underwhelming, awkward, lacks depth

Rating: 1/10 (5 November 2018)

I am a huge fan of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, so it really pains me to write this review. But this movie failed on every level imaginable and I am very surprised by the positive reviews. Without giving away any spoilers, the following things made this movie a very poor example of filmmaking:
1. Absolutely zero chemistry between the leads. All the romantic scenes seemed fake and contrived. As an audience member you feel awkward watching it.
2. The acting was NOT natural and effortless. Everyone was plodding along mumbling vaguely like they were unsure of what's going on.
3. The relationships between the characters were not fleshed out and were developed poorly. I had trouble empathizing with the backstories as I was just not emotionally invested enough. It was very superficial.
4. Direction and editing were choppy and shaky. Too many uncomfortable closeups. Scenes abruptly ended and began. Very poor flow.
As a positive point, the music was decent but not immersive enough as I expected. Also, Lady Gaga looks gorgeous in every scene and outfit.
As Bradley Coopers directorial debut, it might be unfair to be this harsh. But unfortunately, all the above points are heartbreakingly true. The industry and fans have been kind to give this movie better reviews than it deserved. In the end, I came away from this movie feeling distinctly underwhelmed.
PS: Halfway through the movie, my partner asked me, so when is Lady Gaga going to show up? We had a good laugh about that later.