A Star Is Born (2018) Movie Review

A STAR IS BORN (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

Music and movies are often described as being one in the same. They each blend seamlessly well together and aid each other in producing a greater calibre of commercial and critical acclaim. All these characteristics can be given to the film A Star Is Born as the movie not only exemplifies the soul and essence of a movie, but what any kind of musical creation should be as well. Director and lead actor Bradley Cooper manages to capture all of this by giving the audience pure emotion and beautifully orchestrated songs, all of which is aided by the angelic voice and performance given by pop sensation Lady Gaga.  

World renowned musician Jackson Main (Bradley Cooper) for many years deals with an ongoing battle with alcoholism and depression. While struggling with this, Jack discovers and falls in love with Ally (Lady Gaga), a down on her luck musician trying to catch a break. Seeing the potential Ally possesses, Jack convinces her to chase her dream and coax her into the bright lights of fame and fortune. However as their careers begin to rise, their relationship takes a turn for the worst as Jackson's struggle with his inner demons starts to affect both their relationship and careers respectively. Being the third film adaption of A Star Is Born, the other two releasing in 1954 and 1976, the amount of pressure for this film to succeed is astronomical considering the fanbase that the original movies possess. Even worse is that the pressure for this film is increased tenfold as this is Bradley Cooper's directorial debut. And I am happy to report that the leading man has succeeded in creating a film that will be hard to forget for years to come. 

Arguably the biggest thing this film is being praised for is the performances given by our leads Bradley Cooper and even more impressively Lady Gaga. Both actor and actress give a phenomenal performance each worthy of a potential award nomination. For my money however, the standout in this film was Lady Gaga. Showing she has the chops to be taken seriously as an actress as well as a musician, the performance Gaga gives is nothing short of tremendous as the emotion shown by the pop star is as realistic as can be portrayed. Take nothing away from the other actors in the movie though as lead actors Bradley Cooper and Sam Elliot give heartfelt performances as distant brothers whom have a torn relationship. As for the writing, it was again can be desribed as an award worthy script as the writer Eric Roth, known for Forrest Gump and The Insider, has produced a beautifully written script and despite not being an original creation, Roth has managed to turn this classic movie into his own. 

Overall in a year filled with great movies, A Star Is Born might just be one of if not my favourite film released in 2018. With director and lead actor Bradley Cooper at helm, he has created a beautiful movie filled with countless scenes of emotion and unfortgetable songs that could make even the most callus heart choke up. If you ever get the chance to see the third adaption of this classic story, I highly recommend as with a title like A Star Is Born, it truly does make sense that this film has created an acting star out of Lady Gaga as I can easily see grand things in the future for the world-renowned pop star. 

OVERALL

8 / 10