At this point I'm jealous of Bradley Cooper

Rating: 8/10 (12 October 2018)

As a self-proclaimed critic with years of experience writing movie reviews on the very prestigious website known as IMDB, I make it my personal mission to be the voice of the people. What I mean by that is, I don't like my reviews to be pretentious or filled with unnecessary commentary. When I watch a movie, I put myself into the shoes of an average moviegoer and I ask myself, "If I wasn't a critic, would I enjoy this?" And as I was watching "A Star Is Born," I began to realize that if I was an average moviegoer, I would really love this film. The acting is practically perfect from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, who portrays a drug addicted alcoholic to perfection. The directing is immaculate, filled with gorgeous, beautiful, personal, intimate moments that allow the romance to practically burst from the screen. And the soundtrack was one of the best I've ever heard in a film; Bradley Cooper not only can act, not only looks like an angel from Heaven, but the man can sing like nobody's business. However, even though I can recognize all of these things, on a personal level, I haven't left a film feeling so empty since I saw "Split," and if you've read my review for "Split" then you'll remember me saying how I didn't want to, nor enjoy, the feeling of being emotionally gutted after the film; similarly, I didn't enjoy that feeling after this movie, either.
I can recognize that this movie is good. The story is compelling, the music is lovely, the acting is top-notch, and the directing by Bradley Cooper is immaculate. There were so many moments that also sent chills through me because of how beautiful they were, in particular the first scene where Lady Gaga's character joins Bradley Cooper on stage to sing. There is a lot to love about this movie, and it's a movie not just about music and romance, but about heartache and depression, grief and loss. The movie deals with very real subjects that all of us have experienced in one way or the other. I know life isn't necessarily pretty, I recognize that life, for a lot of people, contains hardships and suffering. And I know that diseases like alcoholism and drug addiction are not glamorous. But seeing these things in this film portrayed in such an unflinching, realistic way, honestly, just bummed me out.
I went to see this movie with my mom and my grandmother because who else would I go see a movie with, and I was very excited. In fact, my mother started to get annoyed because I felt the need to constantly remind her how excited I was to watch this movie. After the movie I didn't say a word. I felt like Bradley Cooper himself had personally reached into my soul and took out all the love and light. I felt genuinely empty. And I didn't enjoy that.
So, on one hand, I recognize that this movie is good, legitimately it is one of the finer movies released this year, and if you go see it you will most definitely enjoy it. However, even though I recognize that this movie is good, I cannot personally say that I enjoyed it because of the way it made me feel. For better or for worse, I felt more depressed coming out of this movie then I did going in. Regardless, I am giving this film an 8 out of 10 because I legitimately think it is a great movie, just one that will tug at your heartstrings along the way.
8/10