• A Star Is Born (2018)

12/22/18 (Sat), Tokyo

A star really is born in this fourth iteration of the now-familiar tale. Lady Gaga gives an utterly unaffected performance as a nobody and a star and everything in between, nothing artificial or actor-ial or diva-ish about it. She has created a convincing character in Ally: her evident insecurity when she is being hit on by the rock star or dragged out on stage, her impulsive anger, her interaction with the rock star – all felt real. She gives a shout-out to her diva predecessors Judy (snatch of “Over the Rainbow”) and Barbra (anxiety over big nose) – and for all I know Janet Gaynor as well – but totally outclasses her mannered musical predecessors, both of whom were already movie as well as singing stars when they made their versions. I didn’t expect this level of artistry. I understand that Beyoncé was being considered for the role, but I don’t see how Lady Gaga’s performance could have been bettered. I see more movies in her future.

Bradley Cooper, an actor of nuance who’s long overcome his Hangover image, also shined. There was terrific chemistry between him and his co-star that couldn’t have been faked. While she was taking on her first movie role, he was taking on his first singing role and acquitted himself extremely well both vocally and personality-wise, with a terrific laid-back stage presence in the concerts. His descent to the gutter – basically a fall from famous drunk to washed-up drunk – was truly harrowing, though I did wonder what her role in that was supposed to be given that he was a mess from the start. His stumbling appearance at the Grammy Awards was not believable in the least given the scale of the awards these days – would the producers have let him anywhere near the stage, or kept the cameras rolling? – but it was handled well for what it was. I’m always impressed by Cooper, and this is one of his best roles yet.

Amazingly he’s also evidently making his debut as director, which I never would have guessed from his skillful handling of the material. He handles people well, especially in the crowd scenes, and takes a confident straightforward approach to the story with no effects or gimmicks. There were questionable bits: in addition to the Grammys scene above, the use of a hearing loss to justify his artistic and mental decline was a cop-out. I would have thought that simply being left behind by the times would be sufficiently psychologically damaging, giving him no convenient physical ailment to blame it on. Also, Ally’s song at the final memorial service was way too energetic for someone in mourning regardless of how heartfelt the song; it was not consistent with her character to that point. I know that modern music doesn’t do soft or understated, but this was a rare trip-up in her characterization. The story is inevitably melodramatic, and as noted he was a train wreck before he met her, making it unclear what she could have done to prevent it. She is less tragic than unlucky. 

Nevertheless, the story in general was smooth and credible, and the production first-rate. Cooper, the brains behind the film, deserves plaudits for sticking with the reportedly difficult project and carrying it out so expertly. He seems a shoo-in for nominations both as actor (along with his co-star) and director.

While the leads thoroughly met the challenge of their predecessors in the acting department, the music was a different story. What a comedown from Harold Arlen. Aside from the sadly typical lyrical issues (bad rhymes, lazy intonation), the music sounded like it was churned out by committee. I try to keep an open mind, I really do, but this cookie-cutter material is enervating. I don’t expect “The Man That Got Away”, and I suppose the show is about rock stars, making bland music of this type more real-to-life. Still, it’s such a fine movie otherwise that this is a depressing flaw. That was only highlighted when we got a bit of Ray Orbison’s far superior “Pretty Woman” and the Etta James version of “At Last”. Maybe the inevitable next remake can be about jazz artists playing the standards; those would fit any time period, and the booze and drugs would make perfect sense in that context. (Speaking of the future, I wonder if we should expect a reversal showing a female star overtaken by a male protégée – or is that one feminist step too far?)

In any event, with the significant exception of the brain-numbing music, this is a shining “Star”, the best of the three musical versions. An unexpected treat.