A Star Is Born (2018)

A Star Is Born is nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Original Song, Best Sound Mixing and Best Adapted Screenplay. That is seven Oscar nominations. Seven. If that alone doesn’t tell you how amazing this film is, then keep reading because I’m going to tell you too.

A Star Is Born is the story of Jack and Ally, two passionate musicians who fall in love. Jack is a famous musician who discovers Ally and helps build her own musical career. From the very beginning, he is mesmerized by her. Together they embark on a beautiful and tough journey together trying to navigate fame, the music business, and the ups and downs of life.

My overall impression of this film? I loved it. I adored it. I give it 5 out of 5 stars easy.

One of the things I really loved, appreciated, and respected about this film was the tough social issues that it tackled. There were several hard subjects that this movie addressed and it did it well. The main ones are alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, suicide, body image, and the superficiality of the music industry. Those are the big ones I saw. Just listing it out seems like a lot for a single film to take on but they did it effortlessly. So basically, what I’m trying to say is that this film had something to say. There was a message.

The music was INCREDIBLE. Naturally a film about two passionate musicians is going to have a lot of music in it right? Yes, and it was beautiful. Bradley Cooper’s voice is beautiful and if you didn’t know he wasn’t a professional singer like Lady Gaga, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. He is that good. And of course, Lady Gaga was phenomenal. I feel like her character’s overall message was how beautiful and wonderful “different” can be. She sounds different and looks different and combined with her talent makes for such an explosive musician. Her voice, her acting, her song writing, her eyes. I mean wow. I was floored by her. She is a singer, song writer and musician first. She has only just begun acting and it does not show. She was so expressive and it felt like she WAS her character. That is how dedicated she is. She was perfect for this role.

I’m only just now realizing how amazing Bradley Cooper is as an actor. I first saw him in films like Wedding Crashers and The Hangover. I loved him in these films. Mostly because he is so hot with the most gorgeous blue eyes but also because he is entertaining. It has only been recently that I have seen the depth that this guy can go. His films are becoming more complex and serious and with each new role he keeps surprising me. He is becoming one of the greats. And not only did Bradley Cooper do amazing in this film, he also directed it. Yup. This was his very first film that he directed and it is so special. I mean, it is nominated for seven academy awards. That is impressive for being his debut film.

Now the story. I am warning you now. There are spoilers ahead so if you haven’t seen the film yet and don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading now.

I get really into movies. I love movies. I have an appreciation for almost all movies. I cry at everything and I feel everything so deeply. So naturally, there are a lot of movies I think are really good. However, despite all of this, there are films that go beyond this for me. Every now and then a film is special. Truly special. I can count on one hand the films I feel this way about and A Star Is Born is one of them.

It’s actually really hard to put into words how this movie made me feel. It feels like no matter what I write, it just doesn’t really capture how I felt about it. But I am going to try.

Simply put. It was beautiful and it was real.

Their story was fascinating to watch. In the beginning you have this man, Jackson Maine, who is a famous musician and it is clear from the beginning that he has some issues. You can tell he is unhappy and lonely. He drinks a lot and when he performs, his heart isn’t in it and it shows.

One night, after a gig, he runs out of booze in his car and he has his driver drop him off at some random bar in the same town he just performed in. He needed a drink.

That is when he meets Ally.

Ally performs “La Vie En Rose” on stage in this drag bar and he is dazzled by her. She doesn’t even look like her at all but he can see through her costume and he is mesmerized.

After her performance, he introduces himself and she immediately knows who he is. He asks her if he can buy her a drink and she looks bewildered and almost self conscious but agrees.

They go to a bar and that is when he finds out that she is a musician who has been struggling to make it into the music business. She says that she has been told so many times that she sounds great but that she doesn’t have the right look. He is not having it at all. He thinks she is beautiful and incredible and he tells her that from the beginning. She looks at him like he’s crazy and almost like she doesn’t believe him.

Some guy ends up being a jerk to him in this bar, she punches the guy, Jack carries her out, takes her to a grocery store to buy frozen peas to put on her hand which was so damn adorable and then they sit in the empty parking lot together. She is icing her hand and he is talking to her and their love story begins. She learns a little about him and makes up a few lyrics on the spot and sings them and he is just blown away by her. Not only because of how amazing she is with words, but her voice is beautiful.

Shortly after that, he can’t have enough of her and he is determined to let her shine. He takes her with him on tour and puts her on stage and she dazzles the crowds. It’s so beautiful because when it comes to Ally, he is so selfless. He is so in love with her and her talent that all he wants to do is help clear the way so she can shine and so everyone can see too.

It doesn’t take long for everyone around them to see that she is helping him too. Ally puts the fire back in Jack’s soul and he finds a love and a passion for his music again. They create music together and sing together and they just light each other up. It’s a wonderful thing to see.

So we see them grow and fall in love and they are so cute it hurts. The chemistry between these two is insane. There is something about Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga that just clicked from the very beginning. There is real love there. I think they are going to end up together in real life but for now, they are simply mesmerizing on screen together. That is what makes this film and this story so believable and real.

So despite their love and the beautiful passion they inspire in one another, reality is still very much present. Jack has a serious drinking problem and a bad drug habit.

He has unresolved issues with his brother, who is also his manager, and other demons from his past. Ally is struggling with finding her own way in her musical career and she has an internal and external battle with her image and what she wants to convey to the world with her music. She is also so in love with Jack but is also trying to help him with his issues.

Their love continues to grow and one day he asks her to marry him and she says yes. They become husband and wife, get a dog together and this cute little house that is so them in every way. Things are going great for awhile.

It’s not long before Jack notices that Ally is starting to stray into a music career that is superficial and is not really her at all. She struggles with being true to herself and her music and with the direction that her music manager is giving her. These are often at odds with one another.

When Jack brings this up to Ally, in a not very nice way, they fight about it and it is a point of contention for them. He loves her so much and he adores the way she sees music. He just wants her to be her and to be happy. So he tries to not say anything and let her do her thing. Meanwhile, he is still heavily struggling with his addictions.

On the night that Ally wins her first Grammy, he accidentally takes too much of his pills and is so high on stage when she is accepting her award. He embarrasses himself. He pees himself for the whole world to see and then passes out on stage.

After this, he goes to rehab and he gets clean. When he sees Ally again, months later, their relationship is a little strained. Ally is so worried for him and wants to make sure he is ok. He feels so guilty for ruining her night and putting her through all of this. She hugs him and kisses him and tells him it’s okay. He sobs in her arms and it is just the saddest thing ever.

During his time in rehab we discover more about his painful childhood. We learn that Jack’s father was also an alcoholic. Jack was thirteen when he tried to hang himself from the ceiling fan in their living room with his belt but it broke and the fan fell to the floor. The worst part was that his dad never even noticed that Jack tried to kill himself. He was that drunk. My heart just broke for him.

Later when he goes home, things are still a bit shaky but Jack and Ally are slowly getting through each day one at a time. Ally is still working on her music and performing and Jack is sober and is trying very hard to work on himself and be there for Ally. He even shows Ally this song he started to write for her and they work on it together.

Ally refuses to go on her European tour if Jack can’t come with her. She does not want to leave him at a time like this. Her music manager is furious at this. He never liked Jack and he has always tried to mold Ally into something that she is not. So while Ally is not at home one day, her music manager, Rez, stops by to have a talk with Jack and he crushes him.

Rez says the most evil things to Jack. Rez is a manipulative little shit and he knows exactly what to say to get what he wants. He tells Jack that he is holding Ally back. He tells Jack that Ally is so embarrassed by him but would never tell him because she loves him too much. Rez says that in time, Jack is going to go back to drinking and drugs and he is just going to ruin any chance Ally is ever going to have and when that happens, Rez isn’t going to let him anywhere near Ally.

The look on Jack’s face broke my heart. He believed everything Rez said. He is so fragile at this point that there is the saddest clarity and resignation that comes over his face.

I knew. Instantly I knew. And I started to cry. I knew what was coming and I couldn’t stop crying. I was yelling at the screen through blurry tears. I was saying, “no, no, no, please no,” over and over again.

Later that evening Ally is going to perform and she wants Jack to come with her. She wants them to sing the first song they ever wrote together. He kisses her on the forehead and says okay and that he will meet her there. The whole time he is looking at her like it is for the last time.

At her concert, she is on stage performing and asking about where Jack is. Her people say they will look for him and she goes back to performing.

At the same time, Jack gets in his truck and pulls out of the garage. He stops and pulls a hidden bottle of pills out of the glove compartment. He has the saddest look on his face. He takes a bunch of pills and stumbles out of his truck back into the garage. His belt is hanging from one hand. He pauses, his handle on the garage door and stares off into space for a moment. His blue eyes filled with sadness and finality and then he shuts the door with him inside. And he kills himself.

Ally is broken and devastated. The love of her life is gone. She is like a ghost in her home that feels so empty now. Jack’s brother tells her that this was nobody’s fault but Jack’s. Ally starts to cry and she wants to blame herself but he won’t let her. All he says is that Jack always talked about how “music is essentially twelve notes between any octave. Twelve notes and the octave repeats. It's the same story told over and over, forever. All any artist can offer the world is how they see those twelve notes. That's it.” And that Jack told him he loved how she saw those notes.

The movie ends with Ally standing on a stage in front of a packed house. She says thank you to everyone who came to honor her husband. She says she is going to sing a song he had written for her. And she does. And it is the most beautiful and soul crushing song I have ever heard. When the song ends we see her big sad eyes and the film ends.

I cried so hard. So, so hard. I was so angry and sad and hurt and upset and crushed.I just couldn’t believe it. This movie really crushed me. I was so angry at her stupid music manager. And I was furious at Jack for listening to him. I was furious at him for leaving her. I was so mad that he didn’t stay. I was just so, so mad.

He loved her so much that he didn’t see just how much she loved him back. He didn’t see how much she needed him. He didn’t see how she did not feel like he embarrassed her. She did not care. She cared about him. Their love and their music meant more to her than her stupid music career and he couldn’t see that. That was the first time I ever saw suicide as a truly selfless act. Yes he had his demons, but the reason he did it was because he loved her. He wanted what was best for her and he felt like he would just bring her down. I was just blown away and my soul crumbled.

This story was beautifully told. It was heart wrenching, cute, funny, frustrating, and so much more. You can feel how much passion went into the making of this film. It just pours out from Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. They made this film incredible.

This is one of those films that I will watch over and over again and each time learn something new or dwell on a different message. It has a lot to say. Far more than I can write here. It was a real story, with real people, and to be honest, I didn’t see much acting here at all.