A Star is Born

So risky, this project.  So easy to create another overblown (to say nothing of unnecessary) Hollywood remake.  A STAR IS BORN from 1937 had already been remade a few times before this new one, as you may know.  In 1976, Barbra Streisand created a paean to herself, a two plus hour ego trip that marginalized most everything else within.  This time, actor/director/co-screenwriter Bradley Cooper does not let that happen.  Not for himself or his co-star, Lady Gaga.  Both get a formidable showcase in this new imagining of a very timeworn showbiz tale.

Mainly, I was really convinced these characters loved each other.  That is key, absolutely vital.  The early scenes slowly, carefully build the quiet but intense relationship to follow, their personalities already revealing themselves with a refreshing honesty.  Neither Jack, a legendary rock star whose fame is threatened by alcohol and drug addiction, or Ally, a waitress/singer dreaming of making it big, hide who they are in the beginning stages, as they observe each other with great, if somewhat cautious, interest.  I really liked how Cooper staged these moments.  I knew this movie would be something special.

And Cooper rarely steps wrong on either side of the camera.  His deservedly celebrated direction and just about perfect and believable performance are well beyond what other first timers have achieved, especially when they try to direct themselves.  Scenes that tend to be over the top in stories such as this are treated with subtlety (note how the aftermath of a suicide plays).  Cooper brings an incredible electricity to concert footage and one on one scene alike, with an intimacy that seems to be rare in mainstream movies anymore.   Also acclaimed is Matthew Libatique's cinematography, which gives this film a real cinematic look and feel, even when it sometimes seems a bit circumscribed and dominated by tight shots.

Lady Gaga? What to say? She's remarkable.  So nice to see her without her usual persona's costumes and make-up.  She's quite credible as a spunky young lady, the only daughter of her proud Italian papa, nicely played by Andrew Dice Clay, whose latter day film career is much more appealing than his old one.  Ms. Gaga also blows the audience away with several songs, but neither they or her image overwhelm A STAR IS BORN. The movie is a triumph, deeply satisfying.  It well may be a Star Vehicle, but one that uses its talent to flesh out the old chestnut, not Image or Celebrity to continuously exalt the name(s) above the title.

My only complaint, Sam Elliott's character Bobby, who plays Jack's much older brother and manager, could've easily been eliminated from the script.  Elliott is good, mind you, but his presence really only adds to the running time, and did not really make the central story any more potent.  Maybe Cooper wanted another soothingly raspy voice to tango with his soothingly raspy voice.