A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born

This is version 4.0 of the script in which a male superstar in decline has an ill-fated romance with his female protege who is on the threshold of stardom.

A Star Is Born 2018 is both a directorial debut for Bradley Cooper (who also co-wrote and stars in the film) and acting debut for Lady Gaga. It more or less uses the same plot as the previous three iterations: Jackson Maine (Cooper) is a rockstar with a severe drinking problem. While bar-hopping one night after a gig, he chances to see Ally (Gaga), a wanna-be singer, perform as a guest during a drag show. He flirts, she falls, they have a tumultuous relationship, he drinks himself into obscurity, she howls her way to fame. Most people seem to agree, the first half of the film is intimate and charming but it loses traction after half time. Cooper, like his alter-ego, Jackson, seems reluctant to surrender any screen presence – understandably so, because Gaga proves herself to be a powerhouse and would easily have run away with the film given more room to move.

Given the impressive list of songwriters involved, the songs are fairly unremarkable. Soundtrack hero, Shallow is just that and has no hint of the hit-maker qualities of its predecessor, Evergreen.

A Star Is Born is a likeable film; sentimentalists will be instantly reduced to salty puddles; cynics will be mollified by the film-making rigour.

★★★

Reviewed by Rita Bratovich

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