Bradley Cooper makes an unusually impressive addition to his resume

Rating: 8/10 (11 October 2018)

The story, an old one, is mostly a love story, not my usual cup of tea, but it wasn't very hard to sit through mostly because it tried for honesty and a real sense of what the music industry is like close up, and because of some great performances, particularly, Bradley's. The thing is he does a great job portraying a type we seldom see on screen, the charismatic cowboy-like man with a lot going for him, who has serious shortcomings in his ability to deal with rather ordinary troubles. It's an oddly southern sort of combination though in this film the character's from Arizona.
Bradley's performance is so vivid, it's easy to see how it's Oscar worthy. Lady GaGa's performance is also strong though not as iconic, in my opinion. I was surprised to be as entertained by her singing and acting as I was. She's able to draw you in very close which was needed by the story and it pays off in having us care about her character.
All in all a good time at the movies. Cooper's directing shows some real promise to the point that I wonder whether he'll ever act again. That would be a shame because he's quite good.