A STAR IS BORN
4 out of 5 stars
First...Do not peak at the bottom of the review for the answer...Did you catch the TV Reunion?
It has been made many many many times, yet it still works. It is just a story that transcends time. It is classic but can be told during any time period.
This film has many positives:
The music is wonderful, more so in the front half then the back half.
Bradley Cooper is amazing as Jackson. Maybe the best performance of his career. He is soft, but borderline hard because of the disease. He is kind and lost. He is falling but cant grab anything to stop the fall. His voice is grumbles but yet soft. So good!!!!!!!!!!
Sam Elliot as Bobby. I know, I mean really has Sam Elliot ever been bad?! Here...with his short time on the screen he steals everyone of those little bits. Especially the last heartbreaking scene.
Lady GaGa is really good for her first film. It is a tough part but watch her shoulders as her character Ally grows. It is a physical change, slumping as the world beats her down, too standing up straight and shoulders out as she gets more and more confident. There are some hiccups where sometimes it feels she is just reading her lines with no emotion...still great casting and she holds her own against some acting titans.
Now to some negatives.... back to Ally. There is really no movement in the back half of the story for her. I read somewhere in another review that they can watch the first half forever but the second half just feels stale, and I agree. Like you are watching the same thing over and over again in the second half. I imagine it is like the disease of alcoholism, its a circle, but on film we really needed more time with Ally. She is not really fleshed out as she grows in the second half. We really do not know her feelings about the popstar image, or her own personal growth we only know her professional growth. Oddly even as she got bigger she still talked like a teenager. This was Cooper's biggest mistake. It really drags the second half down as we see the same thing over and over again.
Still it is one of the best films of the year....it is a must see...heartbreakingly good.
Bradley Cooper and Greg Grunberg (Phil..Jack's driver)...an Alias reunion!!
From the shadows as always thanks for your time
No comments:
Post a Comment