A Star Is Born Review

Rating: 9/10 (26 January 2019)

A Star is Born is a film co-written and directed by Bradley Cooper. This film has been on my radar from the day it was announced. The trailers came and I kind of loved the vibe and knew that this film was going to be one of the best. After watching it last night, I knew that my movie senses were in the right direction.
Plot: Jackson Maine, an alcoholic and drug addict musician falls in love with a much younger singer, Ally.
Story and direction: This film has been shown before in India in the form of Aashiqui 2. All of the people loved the music but I was one of the few people who did like the film too. So for me while I was starting the film, I kind of knew the story and the territory I was stepping into. What I did like about the film was its approach. This particular story has been shown three times before and its natural for people to think as to what else can be done. But Bradley has done a fantastic job in making the film his own and marking himself as a fantastic director. In each and every scene you do feel what the characters are going through and what is their mind-set. For most of the run-time, I was invested in the film. The film also very beautifully highlights both the negatives and positives of being a celebrity and how it affects your lives. The cinematography of the film is just awesome. Each and every frame of the film is just fascinating to look at. The concert scenes are very well directed. But the film does have places where the pace kind of goes down and you feel not very invested in that particular scene.
Performances: Bradley Cooper does a great job both kin terms of physicality and acting. He delivers a phenomenal performance. But the main star of the film is obviously Lady Gaga. I have heard few of her songs which proves her mettle as a singer but she is a wonderful actress too. She gives her best performance and it's difficult to digest that this is her first film. Sam Elliot also gives a standout performance. He sometimes does make you emotional and you understand the plight of his character. Andrew Dice Clay and Dave Chapelle also give some good performances.
Music: The film has some great songs thanks to Lady Gaga, Luke Nelson and a whole lot of others. I decided not to hear any one of the songs before watching the movie. And that turned out to be great. "Shallow" obviously is awesome and is getting a lot of accolades. Another one that caught my ear was "Always remember Us This Way".
Favorite Scene: It would be the one where Jack proposes to Ally. The reason as to why this particular scene caught my eye was because I wasn't expecting that and also the proposal was done in the most creative way possible.
Verdict: A STAR IS BORN is definitely a film that I loved and would recommend all romance and music lovers to watch. This film has a quite unique approach which might not sit right with many, so I do understand if you will not like the film. But anyways, I did love the film.
I am going with a 9/10.