Gaga, Cooper chemistry elevates ‘A Star is Born’ despite imperfect directorial debut
Creating great art is difficult. Some artists find inspiration and immediately make masterpieces, while others can’t muster an idea. But most great talents will show promise in their first work and maybe even garner acclaim, despite making simple mistakes.
Such is the case of Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, “A Star is Born,” which hit theaters this past weekend. With Cooper’s inexperience behind the camera, and with writing, on display in many scenes, the film is messy. But it’s Cooper and Lady Gaga’s chemistry that raises this otherwise standard film above the rest.
“A Star is Born” is the fourth and most modern incarnation of the story, the most recent version being the 1976 edition starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Lady Gaga stars as Ally, a waitress with an amazing singing voice. One night, while performing at a drag bar, she’s introduced to the drunken country star Jackson Maine (Cooper). The two hit it off immediately and Jackson asks Ally to perform with him. Reluctant at first, Ally agrees and ends up becoming a huge star.
As any artist’s first work, Cooper’s directorial debut has several problems. There are many out-of-place shots, poorly framed moments and awkward edits. One scene transitions from a dark bar to a bright supermarket, making it difficult to watch the jarring light change.
The filmmaking alone brought on its own issues. One subplot involves Jackson fighting with his brother, Bobby Maine — played by Sam Elliott — about his alcoholism and past issues. But the plot point is completely rushed. They show two scenes with Bobby, then in a span of three quickly-edited scenes, Jackson and Bobby are fighting and Bobby leaves Jackson out to dry. Then, after one quick scene to take this all in, Jackson and Ally perform like it never happened. This familial relationship, which could’ve been interesting and complex, is wasted by poor development.
In spite of these flaws, though, there’s still moments of the film to enjoy — most of which come from Cooper’s work in front of the camera. He fully dives into the character of Jackson, an alcoholic rock star who sees his lover grow in popularity.
As Ally becomes more successful, Cooper fantastically conveys the weight of Jackson’s falling stardom and his self-image as a burden to others. This is an easy part to play safe, but Cooper brings a sense of realism to the role.
In addition, Gaga shines as Ally, a talented person thrust into the limelight. Gaga captures the starstruck nature of a character who has mostly lived a small life with her father (Andrew Dice Clay). She grows from someone who was once too shy to perform, due to her issues with self-image, into a major star. The fact that the role is played by a real-life superstar like Gaga only adds to the part, as she’s been through this process in her rise to stardom.
The two also have tremendous chemistry in every scene, whether they are complimenting each other or fighting about their egos. From their playful energy to their seamless work on stage together, their relationship is further elevated by a fantastic soundtrack.
Gaga nails her vocal performance, but the real surprise is Cooper. Not known for his singing voice, Cooper sings well and sells the performance scenes. Although Gaga sounds like she’s singing in a sound studio in her first scenes and the crowd noise is a little low at times, the performances are well done.
He isn’t perfect, but Cooper gives a solid effort to make the film. There are many gorgeous shots and successful attempts at telling this story visually. His directorial debut isn’t the home run that most of the critics make it out to be, but “A Star is Born” is still a solid double down the left field line.
Cooper and Gaga make this film their own and elevate it above its generic and rushed moments. While it’s not quite in the deep end, “A Star is Born” does go far enough from the shallows to succeed.
Patrick Gunn is a sophomore broadcast journalism major. His column appears weekly in Pulp. You can email Patrick at pagunn@syr.edu.
