A Star is Born
Hollywood has always been tirelessly obsessed with telling stories about itself and this particular one just beckons to be told and retold, time and again. This fourth rendition of A Star is Born, brings us the respective directorial and acting debut from Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.
As perhaps the biggest intrigue of the film, Gaga’s first official outing on the big screen fares way better than most might imagine, owing to her natural charisma as a performer and a phenomenal musical talent. As expected, the film does feature some vivacious and thrilling musical numbers, resembling the energy of a live stadium.
Undeniably, Cooper and Gaga have palpable on-screen chemistry together. Disappointingly though, the film pretty much just coasts on this easy rapport to convince us that this is a be-all and end-all love story. The emotional disconnect becomes more apparent as the film progresses, when the focus of the story shifts from the discovery of Ally as an up-and-coming star to Jack’s inner demons. The story offers many opportunities to deal with the dark side of the music industry that Ally faces but were brushed over to make way for Jack’s character arch. The development of Ally is then stalled and molded around her association with Jack but never through her own identity as an artist or person. She barely shows any sense of agency towards her own career which is antithetical to the film’s message about the authenticity of an artist. The lopsided perspective of this romance and the film’s abandonment of Ally as a character are frustrating to say the least. So by the time we get to the closing number of the film, which is supposed to be the emotional crescendo of their relationship (and the entire film), the drama sadly dissolves into overripe melodrama.
A Star is Born is a proficiently made film which many will enjoy. But its inability to practice what it preaches and its treatment to its pivotal female character, considering that this is the fourth remake of the story, makes the film fall victim to its own hype.
(Originally posted on 22 Oct 2018 @projectunwrapped)
