Bradley Cooper was able to showcase not only his acting skills but his directing skills in the new movie, “A Star is Born.” With Cooper’s multiple talents and Lady Gaga’s amazing singing and acting, this made for an incredibly beautiful and emotional movie.
Many may believe that this movie is the typical “boy meets girl” romance genre. On the contrary, this movie is nothing similar to previous romance films. Cooper directed the film in a way that it would resonate with people long after the movie ended and leave them to try to comprehend what they just experienced. Typical “boy meets girl” films tend to have the same plot, so they don’t linger in the viewers’ minds for long, but ‘A Star is Born’ doesn’t present that typical plot. Instead, it creates a new experience for people to dive into and grasp.
Bradley Cooper played the role of Jackson Maine in the movie, a famous singer who is dealing with being an alcoholic and drug addict. Jackson crossed paths with Ally Campana (Lady Gaga), a young woman striving to make it in the music industry, but is continually turned down. Jackson sees the natural beauty in Ally and attempts to make her a star and give her the career she deserves. Once the clear plot is posed, the audience may predict where the movie is going to go from there. Most likely, the viewers’ predictions are wrong. The movie ends up spiralling into a direction that reaches the audience in a new and heartbreaking way.
The beauty of the film is that it sets itself apart from the normal romance genre and the movies that are produced under that category. From having Ally perform in a drag bar to expressing how drugs and alcohol can weigh down on a relationship, “A Star is Born” touches upon a plethora of subjects that can personally resonate with viewers in order to form a connection that the audience may have never experienced before. It is obvious that the movie successfully reached people’s emotions due to the fact that when the film ended, at least in the theatre I was in, sniffles were echoing around the room.
The sadness people felt at the end of the film allows them to feel emotions they may not open themselves up to ordinarily. Not wanting to spoil the movie, I won’t touch upon what lead people to feel this sadness, but it wasn’t just one moment. Even though the viewers were not laughing or feeling happy at the end of the movie, throughout the film, a feeling of hope and inspiration started to form underneath the tough subject of drug and alcohol abuse.
Ally showed a substantial amount of strength throughout the film, especially when it came to dealing with the man she loves who is intoxicated the majority of the time. This strength showed viewers that we have this characteristic deep down inside of us. It presents the idea that no matter the obstacle, we have the strength to overcome it and see the positive side of the world.
Not once throughout the movie did Ally see Jackson’s addiction as a negative matter. Ally took the addiction and showed Jackson and the audience that putting it in a negative light doesn’t help or dissolve it. Ally appreciates the characteristics of Jackson that she fell in love with in the first place and slowly but surely helps him with his addiction along the way. Through music and reliving happy moments in their lives, a positive light at the end of the tunnel starts to form. This bond that was formed allows the audience to see the world in a better way instead of the negative light it is usually put under. The safe space that Ally creates for Jackson shows the audience that there are other ways to deal with not only abuse but life itself.
The movie isn’t all about Jackson’s addiction to drugs and touches upon many other subjects that are relatable to a plethora of people. That is the beauty of this film, it takes one big problem and focuses on it, but also has many little issues arising in the background that the audience must interpret themselves and put the pieces of the puzzle together themselves. Since the movie has many different little pieces to its puzzle, it is hard to describe as a whole, but it is definitely worth the two hours of your time to view and experience this beautiful and heartbreaking film.