A STAR FILM IS BORN

Directed by Bradley Cooper | Starring Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper

It’s a beautiful story we know. The story of superstar boy meets talented, beautiful girl, they fall in love, she is on the way up and he is on the way out, obvious complications ensue then cue happy or sad ending depending on the movie. Despite each one being adapted for new audiences, it is a guaranteed box office success story.

I’m not usually a fan of the chick flick genre and this movie definitely fits into that category so I had a bias before I went and had low expectations.  I also tend to hold a cynical view of a good romance story, born from seeing one too many rubbish movies with nothing going on besides the cheese.  We weren’t all born looking for our prince, you know!

But, who knew that Bradley Cooper can actually, truly sing?  So we were off to a good start and I was immediately caught up in the music, which was one of the big highlights of this movie for me. The sound track is totally banging and Lady Gaga kills it with her pure, raw vocals and the naked emotion she brings to this role. The more I see of her in these kinds of roles the more I appreciate her amazing talent as a singer, and now as an actress.

Lady Gaga is luminescent as Ally, a girl with a big voice but from the wrong background.  She can write a great song but thinks her face is all wrong and her nose too big so she will never make it.  She lives with her Dad (who could have been as big as Sinatra, if only he got the break) waits tables and performs in a dodgy drag bar to feed her creative side while she dreams about what could be if she just had the right face.

Bradley Cooper (in his directorial debut!) plays a blinder as Jackson Maine, an alcoholic, drug addicted superstar performer who coasts through life in a drunken haze. He is jaded and drunk when he comes across Ally in her dive bar and is totally captivated by her massive talent.  They spend the night talking in a car park and discovering each other’s talents and sad stories. He falls for her and takes her under his wing then introduces her to his audience who predictably, fall in love with her too.

The chemistry between these two on screen is amazing and I came away really feeling like I had connected with them somehow.  His star is falling as hers is rising and the tension this collision creates in their personal lives is hard to watch, but they remain deeply in love despite many setbacks and difficult moments.

The original songs and performances transported me somewhere way beyond the theatre I was sitting in and Gaga raised goosebumps for me several times with her perfect pitch and glorious tone.  That woman can SING and her final number will bring even hearts of steel to tears.  Don’t forget your tissues because there is a depth of feeling in this movie that I haven’t seen in a long time and I have to say I loved every minute of it.

I saw A Star is Born with Kris Kristofferson and Barbara Streisand in 1976 and I loved it.  This film takes it to the next level with an electrifying cast, a captivating story and an awesome soundtrack.

Make sure you see it! It’s in cinemas from October 18.