This was mainly due to the history of this story. This is the third re-make of the 1937 original with Janet Gaynor which I really liked.
Sadly, I have yet to have seen the 1954 version with Judy Garland, or the 1976 version with Barbara Streisand. But I am aware that each version has garnered at least an Oscar nomination. It's nice that there is effectively a version of A Star Is Born for each generation.
When I saw that Lady Gaga was in the leading role this time, I could tell that they were going for the major awards. However, I was surprised to see Bradley Cooper not only take the leading male role, but also make his directorial debut which was certainly a bold move to make.
I think it's safe to say our first Oscar contender has dropped its hat into the ring. While the first half is predictable, the telling of it is still strong. It introduces the characters well and straight away shows off the talents of the two leads that we were all cautious about.
Cooper never looked like an actor not known for his singing trying to sing, and Gaga never looked like a non-actor trying to act. They both looked as if they'd be doing it for years and fair play to them for putting in the hard work in what seems to be a passion project for both of them.
The second half is where it gets more interesting as it explores the life of a musician in varying degrees that puts it in both a positive and negative light. Then it ends in such an impactful way that its execution made it even more memorable.
Both Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga give performances that will give both of them a great chance of winning an Oscar.
With Cooper not known for his singing, and Gaga her acting, seeing them both take on those aspects and come out looking even more amazing then they originally were has to be highly commended.
I've never been too bothered by Gaga's music. But I definitely appreciate her talent and she has made many top pop songs. The movie plays to her strengths beautifully. Any time she is performing in the film, you just get entranced by her voice and everything else around her just fades away.
While Cooper and Gaga are getting the plaudits, I think Sam Elliott's performance needs to be credited. So much so, that it might get a push for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. He is a terrific actor first and foremost and his contribution in this film gives us many emotional moments, especially with Cooper's character. Also, I have mention the performances by Andrew Dice Clay and Dave Chappelle as well.
There are lots of other positives to speak of. But quite possibly the biggest is its soundtrack. It is pretty much guaranteeing itself an Oscar for Best Original Song and maybe Best Original Score as almost all the songs in the film as far as I'm aware are all original, which is phenomenal as all of them I instantly wanted to hear again.
My personal favourite is probably the song that opens the film. It just gives you a perfect feel on how this story is going to go. I don't think this will be the song that the studio will be pushing for the Oscar. But it's certainly the one I will be playing the most.
A lot of the songs are played at concerts, and those scenes were impressive. The noise coming out of the speakers in my screening made it worthy of seeing it on the big screen. You do feel like you're right in the middle of a sold out music event.
For a directorial debut, it's hard to ignore the achievement Bradley Cooper has made with this. His style overall was pretty good. Various set-pieces were executed really well with enough impact in them to be instantly memorable.
Sadly my only negative could be in relation to Cooper's directing style. I wanted to mention some of the editing choices that were made. I'm not sure if this was Cooper's chosen style or his inexperience showed, but there were dramatic jumps to a next scene that was startling at first. I did catch up with what was going eventually. But every time this happened, it felt alienating.
That was a small dent in what is a very well-made movie with many strong positives coming out of it.
It has been a while since I saw the 1937 original, so it was nice to see this story again. I saw a lot of similarities to Begin Again, which if you liked this film, then I would recommended checking that out.
Sure this film might get complaints that we've seen this story before. But there's a reason why this is the fourth version of this story being made. That is because it's a great story that can play to the masses and when done right is awards worthy. In this case, it's the strong performances by Cooper and Gaga, the amazing soundtrack and the strong and appealing style of Cooper's directing.
Rating: 8/10
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