A Star Is Born (2018)

What is A Star Is Born about?

A musician helps a young singer find fame as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral. (from IMDB)

My review of A Star Is Born

On a writing and production scale, the movie is epically cinematic. The production design, the sets, the cinematography, the music...it is utterly magnificent. The writing and direction, too, are excellent, and it showcases a phenomenal debut for Cooper. The theme of substance abuse is also a major part of the plot, and this theme is explored throughout.

In terms of acting, the cast is flawless. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are electric; they're perfectly cast, and give it their all with powerful, heartrending performances.

Despite all of these positive points, however, there are a few aspects of the film that disappointed me.

- I enjoyed the first half of the film a lot more than the second half. The second half is more generic, more what you'd expect in a rags-to-riches musical story: girl gets famous, it goes to her head, her relationships get strained, etc etc etc. It's not as gripping or fresh as the first half of the story, when Jackson and Ally are still getting to know each other.

- The love triangle of sorts between Jackson, Ally, and her manager, is an unnecessary subplot. There was no need to bring it in, and it only added to the unoriginality of the second half of the movie.

- Ultimately, this isn't Ally's story. It's Jackson's, and it's about his mental illness and battle with alcoholism. While this is all handled well, I do find it a bit frustrating that Ally's whole character arc revolves around her relationship with Jackson. The script looks at her from how her character relates to Jackson's; it never forgets that Jackson is the main character. To me, this is disappointing. I would've liked for Ally to have had her own agency.