There is strength in vulnerability

Rating: Null/10 (29 November 2018)

The above summary line is a quote from a recent "Actress Roundtable" during which Lady Gaga shared her feelings about portraying the character "Ally" in "A star is born".
I have not seen any of the four previous renditions of that familiar story: a mentor and a protÃ©gÃ© fall in love as they head towards opposite direction in their respective careers. She skyrockets bottom to top; he plummets top to bottom. In her case it is general recognition of her talents. In his case it is substance abuse. I don't know how each of the preceding versions end. This one is "three-hankie' vintage, at least according to one critic. Is it? Each individual's soft spot is different.
Although the plotline is familiar, the focus of each viewer can be different. Take the element of alcoholism. Two widely read critics have completely opposite view on its treatment and importance in the current movie. No one can argue, however, that "A star is born" is first and foremost a love story. One can also see this movie as an illustration of how a superstar is packaged and marketed. My own focus is the music. More specifically, you see how two talented artists click, recognizing each other as a kindred spirit, interacting at a level that is exclusively their own.
To most, the "hankie point" has to be the final scene. Jack (Bradley Cooper), coming back from rehab, after a brief blissful interlude when he believes that there is still a future for him an Ally (Lady Gaga) together, finally realizes that he is only an obstacle, and the only obstacle, to her super-stardom. He hangs himself. In his memorial service, she sings "I'll never love again" a song Jack had written but never got a chance to perform. Intercutting with Lady Gaga's heart-breaking rendition are montages of the happy times Jack and Ally had together. At the very end of the song, it cuts to Jack at the piano, singing the last bar to Ally. Under Cooper's tasteful direction, this scene is sublimely moving. But this is not my "hankie" scene.
Before I come to that scene, I need to describe another one first. They met in a cop bar where he happens to catch her casual guest performance of "La Vie en Rose", which right away serves notice that for Ally, only the sky is the limit. Next comes a mesmerizing scene where they sit on a bench at a spacious sidewalk, in the middle of the night, chatting, laughing, flirting. She quietly sings a few phrases of the song "Shallow" she wrote. He loves it. Encouraged, she stands up, faces him and belts it out as if at the climax of a concert. He loves that too.
Now, this is my "hankie" scene. Still a big draw (although declining), he invites her to his concert, at back stage. After one of his own numbers, he starts a few chords of "Shallow" on his guitar, and gently sings the first few bars, beckoning. At the edge of the stage, surrounded by friends, every fiber in Ally is vibrating. She comes out on stage, a little cautiously but definitely not timidly. Positioning herself at a side mic, she takes over the lyrics. That eye-contact between them says everything, and he is all smiles. For the next verse, she strides over to center stage and truly takes over (Jack stepping aside a bit), with gusto radiating confidence. Jack approaches, they harmonize, just a few bars. It's electrifying!
Bradley Cooper as an actor has been solidly proven, elsewhere as well as in this movie. In addition, for this movie, he took 18 months of vocal training. Reportedly, what we heard in the movie is entirely him as recorded, without further audio engineering.
Lady Gaga surprised a lot of people when she, with total success, sheds her familiar flamboyant persona and becomes the character Ally on screen. Coming back to my summary line, her portrayal of the ordinary, nnocent, vulnerable pre-stardom Ally is totally convincing, a quality that is sustained throughout the entire duration of the movie. Both vocally and visually, there cannot be a better choice. Vocally, nothing needs to be said. Visually, Ally cannot be too pretty but has to be good enough to be appealing on a larger-than-life poster. Incidentally, Ally told Jack, when they first met, that people say she cannot make it because her nose is too big. Makes me really want to see Barbara Streisand's version of this movie!