A daydream of a film

Rating: 4/10 (8 April 2019)

I had heard from many people that A Star Is Born was one of the best films of 2018. People ate it up. They couldn't get enough of Bradley Cooper's killer move where he calls Lady Gaga's character's name just so he could "get another look at ya." How smooth is that.
A Star Is Born is nothing but a standard feel good story. It tells of a musician, Jackson Mayne, past his prime, finding some glimmer of inspiration in an up and comer, Ally, who is the quintessential dreamer. It is clear that Jackson desires more than just to mentor Ally, and in the process, he brings Ally on tour with him, and Ally becomes the all too romanticized "over-night success." Long-story short, Ally rises to stardom, while Jackson struggles with jealousy, addiction, and a hidden battle with tinnitus, ultimately leading to his professional downfall and not unexpected suicide.
The fact that I'm able to use the phrase "long-story short" to describe the entire gist of a movie should be telling of its lack of depth. In reality, there is no moment or character that is very compelling, groundbreaking, or even thought provoking. While it is certainly interesting to see Ally and Jackson going in different trajectories with their lives, the direction of the plot is quite predictable and underwhelming. While the stakes are perceived to be high for Ally who is finally getting to achieve her dreams, there is a lack of a true emotional or existential struggle that I know exists for many creative individuals. In a sense, the entire movie feels like a daydream; the perceived story of how one's career might go, given the right circumstances. And while Jackson's personal turmoil is an emotional low point in the movie, there was no true sense of tragedy in his death, simply due to the lack of a real emotional connection developed with Jackson. We get a vague sense of his troubled childhood, but the issue of suicide and what drives people to that point is an incredibly complex subject with nuance in every direction. The film expects us to accept Jackson's suicide as tragic simply because suicide is so shocking in real life, and this does not do the topic of mental health and depression, justice.