Eric Valenti
A&E Editor
On October 5, 2018, the film that has been remade three times over, is back again. This time, the musical love duo is played by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
If you don’t know the basic plot of the movie — the fourth to tell this tale–, the story follows the famous singer Jackson Maine. His career is at its height but the fame has been a bit too much for him and he has turned to alcohol. He meets an aspiring artist Ally and they quickly fall in love. She starts performing with him, but her career grows, his begins to fade.
Though you may be thinking that this plot is really bare bones, it’s the actors that really make each version of these movies. The most recent version definitely set itself apart from the others. Lady Gaga is one of the most spectacular actress’s and she pulled this role off effortlessly. This, in fact, the best word to describe “A Star is Born”: effortless. Everything in this movie comes off as natural. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga have a chemistry that a heavy movie go-er as myself has not seen in a long time.
The emotion that Cooper and Gaga bring to the screen is heart-wrenching. A larger theme in the movie is acceptance. Ally’s character in the film finds herself struggling to make it because she does not look like the girl that people wanna see. She’s a brunette with a big nose and doesn’t wear much makeup. She was real.
The only major issue with the movie was the pacing. At times, you could have left for the bathroom and come back and not be confused at all. But there were also times that the movie was too fast because of all the tours and music used to move the plot along.
Speaking of which, the music was splendid.
When talking Lady Gaga, it’s no surprise she was amazing. Gaga’s voice wasn’t put too much of a challenge, most likely because the writers want too much flash for a movie about an authentic love story. The music overall was really wholesome and songs that people can listen to with someone they care about. Specifically the song “Shallows”. Jackson Maine invites Ally on stage to sing her original song. At first, Ally is apprehensive but she eventually gets over it and gets on stage. Let me the first to say that their voices were synced up amazingly. The use of the blurred lights made Gaga look like some sort of goddesses. She naturally has a higher singing voice so to hear that complimented with Cooper’s deep voice makes “Shallows” have this hybrid rustic soul pop feel. Enchanting would be the best word to describe the relationship between these two in this song/scene.
This was Bradley Cooper’s first-time singing and he’s not half bad. Is songs with Gaga were a delicious fusion of rustic and pop, but his songs on his own were just as enchanting. The song “Black Eyes” is exceptional. Cooper’s voice is quite low and makes his voice seem like he’s really singing from his soul. He sounds like a country singer meets blues. It’s all heart with Cooper and we only get a glimpse of the song because it gets cut off for a scene change but it really grabbed my attention.
Everything in this version of “A Star is Born” was really comfortable, which I mean in the best of ways. It felt like the actors were picked well, the music suited the film and everything just complimented each other. If you plan on seeing the movie or don’t have the interest to see the movie at all, I strongly recommend that you do, (go with someone you care about.) I saw it with [describe who you saw it with and how it made you connect.]. This movie will teach you that the deep end of the pool is dangerous but sometimes its better than the shallows.
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