A Star is Born
05/10/18 Filed in: Cinema
This film was on my 'ones to watch' based solely on the trailer I saw at the cinema before its release. My judgement was sound, because this is certainly a film that you shouldn't miss. It's the fourth outing for this title, the most recent previous version was in 1976 and starred Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. If I did see that version I've forgotten it, but I won't quickly forget this latest one starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. From the opening scenes to the final credits, this is a film that draws you in. The soundtrack is phenomenal, even more so as all the songs were performed live during the filming. Most films like this are lip-synched to pre-recorded tracks. To keep the tracks secret prior to the release of the film, the concert recordings, including Glastonbury, were not amplified for the crowds. A weird experience for the audiences. The quite complex technical details of how they did this can be found at variety.com.
The Glastonbury scenes were made possible because Kris Kristofferson, he of the earlier version, gave up some time on his set. And it is Bradley Cooper singing, although he trained with Lukas Nelson, son of the famous Willie. He also trained on the guitar, taking a year and a half of intensive music lessons. The end result is compelling, the performances feeling more like live recordings than staged film sets.
As they say, everybody knows the plot, a rising star eclipses an established artist, complicated by the fact that the two are deeply in love. Cooper plays Jackson Maine (Jack), the star on the wane, not helped by a taste for alcohol and drugs. After a gig, having emptied the bottle in his chauffeur-driven wagon, he asks his driver to find a bar. Jack himself spots one, only to find once inside that it's a drag bar. But there is one female singer not in drag; Ally. Dressed and made-up for the part, she delivers a superb rendition of La Vie en Rose. If Edith Piaf was looking down on the scene I'm convinced she would have been very impressed. But it isn't just Ally's voice, her physical performance is mesmerising, and she finishes the song lying on the bar counter looking into Jack's eyes. He's smitten.
He asks to see her in the dressing room, and then waits in the bar while she removes her stage makeup. She emerges, fresh-faced and unspoilt, and he remains smitten. He sees a beauty far beyond the superficial, and finds her self-confessed 'big nose' utterly appealing. It transpires that her musical career has never gone anywhere because although she can sing, she's been told that she isn't pretty enough.
Jack is having none of that, and invites her to a gig, that at first she is reluctant to attend. Jack's driver remains at hand should she change her mind, and after yet another run in with the boss at her waitress job, she walks out and gets in the car; and then into the private jet. At the gig she is hurried to the wings, where Jack spots her. He starts to sing a song she has written, and after one verse calls her to join him. After initial reluctance she walks on stage, at first singing with him, and then taking it solo with a barnstorming performance. A Star is Born!
It isn't long before a go-getting producer introduces himself, and her career rockets, although the course it takes is far from Jack's liking. His emotional turmoil, the booze, the drugs and deteriorating hearing conspire to lay him low and place strains on their relationship. There are still highs, but also many lows, and when Ally is up for a Grammy, or three, Jack is at his lowest, creating a watershed moment. This leads to a chain of events that arguably determine the final outcome, which of course I'm not going to divulge.
When the film La La Land hit the screens it was preceded by a lot of hype, which backfired a bit once people had seen it. A Star is Born hasn't benefited from anywhere the same level of hype, but for my money it is a far better film, and deserves to take a bunch of awards. It scores in all categories; directing, production, acting, soundtrack and the far from insignificant technical work that brought us the superb live performances.
He asks to see her in the dressing room, and then waits in the bar while she removes her stage makeup. She emerges, fresh-faced and unspoilt, and he remains smitten. He sees a beauty far beyond the superficial, and finds her self-confessed 'big nose' utterly appealing. It transpires that her musical career has never gone anywhere because although she can sing, she's been told that she isn't pretty enough.
Jack is having none of that, and invites her to a gig, that at first she is reluctant to attend. Jack's driver remains at hand should she change her mind, and after yet another run in with the boss at her waitress job, she walks out and gets in the car; and then into the private jet. At the gig she is hurried to the wings, where Jack spots her. He starts to sing a song she has written, and after one verse calls her to join him. After initial reluctance she walks on stage, at first singing with him, and then taking it solo with a barnstorming performance. A Star is Born!
It isn't long before a go-getting producer introduces himself, and her career rockets, although the course it takes is far from Jack's liking. His emotional turmoil, the booze, the drugs and deteriorating hearing conspire to lay him low and place strains on their relationship. There are still highs, but also many lows, and when Ally is up for a Grammy, or three, Jack is at his lowest, creating a watershed moment. This leads to a chain of events that arguably determine the final outcome, which of course I'm not going to divulge.
When the film La La Land hit the screens it was preceded by a lot of hype, which backfired a bit once people had seen it. A Star is Born hasn't benefited from anywhere the same level of hype, but for my money it is a far better film, and deserves to take a bunch of awards. It scores in all categories; directing, production, acting, soundtrack and the far from insignificant technical work that brought us the superb live performances.