A
Star Is Born (2018): Written by Bradley Cooper, Eric Roth,
and Will Fetters, directed by Bradley Cooper.
Starring: Bradley Cooper,
Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, Dave Chappelle, and Andrew Dice Clay. Running
Time: 135 minutes. Based on previous
adaptations of the same name from 1937, 1954, and 1976.
Rating:
2.5/4
Thinking
it over after I left the theater, I found it particularly fitting that this
re-re-re-telling of a classic Hollywood tale would come out now, right smack in
the midst of the upheaval that is #MeToo and our current attempted reckoning
with white, male privilege and all its many, insidious forms. This is a movie that, in the very foundations
of its characters and how they are presented within the context of the film (at
least at first), is positively dripping with assumptions of privilege and power
surrounding the male lead, and once I picked up on that, it became impossible
to shake even when the film hits its stride in the second act. Not that the film is not without many saving
graces. Given my longstanding animosity
towards Bradley Cooper, this film is certainly much better than I expected, though
it kneecaps itself too often to reach the level of greatness it clearly strives
towards.
If
you are not familiar with any of its past iterations, A Star Is Born is that eternal story of two artists, one an older
man past his prime and in sharp decline, the other a young woman brimming with
talent but in need of a lucky break, who meet and fall in love but soon find
both their lives tested by the different personal trajectories they are
on. This time around the artists in
question are aging rock star Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper), who always
performs either drunk or high or both, and the young, talented, and thus far
undiscovered Ally (Lady Gaga). In search
of a drink after a show, he happens into the bar where she’s performing for the
night. Instantly taken with her and
amazed by her natural musical talent, he starts pushing her to tour and perform
with his band. This eventually garners
the attention of producers, and Ally is soon on her own trajectory to fame and
recognition, but with Jackson unable to shake his addictions and struggles with
his own personal history, it soon becomes an open question of whether their relationship
or careers can survive much longer.
Although
the fact that this movie was conceived and created solely as a vehicle to win
Bradley Cooper an Oscar will never not rankle me, this is considerably better
fare than either American Sniper or
any of his collaborations with David O. Russell. Much of that is due to the music, though with
all the songs being written by Lady Gaga combined with a bevy of collaborative
artists that should really be no surprise to anyone. The musicals numbers fit well within the
film, with none feeling shoehorned in just because, and in a couple key moments
the lyrics provide insightful meta-commentary on the story itself (and there is
A LOT of meta-ness packed into every inch of the film, almost too much). They are all expertly produced- I was
hesitant when I first heard Cooper would be directing, but he and his crew at
least knew what sort of look would best fit the film and pull it off remarkably
well. The rest of my issues aside, there
are certain shots here and there I know I will never forget.
The
undisputed shining light, though, and the primary reason the film is as good as
it is, is Lady Gaga herself, although Sam Elliott is a very, very close second
in a small, yet remarkably pathos-filled turn as Jackson’s older brother and
quasi-manager. There is always an
inherent danger in cross-casting a major star from another artistic field in a
movie where they effectively play an alternative version of themselves (like I
said, whole lotta meta here); in the worst cases, the whole thing comes across
as an absurd vanity project, with the on-screen character overwhelmed by the
real-world persona of the figure playing them.
Lady Gaga, thankfully, proves herself as natural and authentic-feeling
on the big screen as she is on-stage, and she leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind
that, if she wants to, she can build an acting career as varied and impressive
as her musical one.
In
a way, though, her brilliance is also emblematic of the film’s most fatal flaw,
which is centering the bulk of the movie on Bradley Cooper’s drugged-out Jackson. This is one of those baseline assumptions
undergirding the whole affair that I never really could make my peace with. One certainly could have a very lively debate
about how self-aware the film is in terms of Jackson’s character and whether or
not Cooper was deliberately trying to make him a tragic figure, but the
overwhelming focus on Cooper’s character just struck me as rather egotistical.
Given
that Lady Gaga is giving a more interesting performance and has the more
compelling character arc, not having her as the focus and really directly
experiencing her own views about her life, music, and choices, the film is
robbed of what could have been truly great depth. There is much about Ally that we are either
told in awkward expositions dumbs by Jackson or are left to guess at. We hear quite a lot about “her voice” and “all
the things she has to say,” yet somehow the film never really gets around to
letting us know what any of those things might be from Ally herself. The definitive trailer moment of the entire
film- the moment where Ally sheds her caution and goes out on stage with
Jackson for the first time- is so rushed and clunky and without proper buildup
that, while the scene as a performance is certainly effective, the lack of context
as to why this was ever an issue in the first place holds it back from being
something truly amazing. It is a credit
to Gaga’s performance that she is still able to convey worlds about her
emotional state using just her face (while still singing!), but she deserved getting
more to work with.
Which
brings us, at long last, to the dynamic between Cooper and Gaga’s characters
and how Goddamn creepy and privileged Jackson is. The decision to have one moment after
another, many of them happening in sequence literally right after Jackson meets
Ally, where he awkwardly touches her eyebrows, her nose, her ankle, or sucks
rings off her fingers (not kidding!), and film it in bizarro slowmo is so
incomprehensible to me that I’m honestly still baffled as to who thought it was
a good idea. Their extended introduction
to each other gives a whole new meaning to the word “Pokerface.”
Now,
yes, I know this is supposed to be sweet and romantic and a sign of how fast
they are falling for each other- and to be sure, Ally is a strong-willed person
who can take care of herself- but there was an air of assumed privilege to much
of these moments, especially given the power that Jackson, being a celebrity,
inherently brings into all his interactions with people that left me genuinely
unnerved. He’s Jackson Effing Maine, so
of course if he asks a woman he just met if he can stroke her nose or rub her
eyebrows, she’ll let him. If he sets his
chauffeur to literally stalk her around her home, it’s all good as long as she
comes to the concert. If he’s already
decided a woman is going to quit her job, jump on a plane, and come on stage
for the first time to sing her own song despite vehemently saying she can’t, of
course that’s what she’ll do. Never mind
whether or not she may have very valid reasons or fears about being on stage
that hold her back. He doesn’t need to
ask about that, because if he’s decided you need to sing with him, that’s
that.
Counteragument:
what if he has no ill intentions and only means the best by all that? Possible, yes. I very much believe Cooper had nothing but
good intentions with the film. HOWEVER- isn’t
one of the core points of #MeToo about not just going after the more overt
forms of sexism and misogyny, but also questioning the more passive, casual, “nicer”
ways in which guys allow certain assumptions about their interactions with
women to go unchallenged and unquestioned?
Why is Jackson so unassuming that everything he does is ok? Why is it so obvious in retrospect that Lady
Gaga is naked on camera but Bradley Cooper isn’t? I can’t help but feel that Jackson, and by
extension the parts of the film connected to him, perfectly embodies the sort
of unconscious, “charming” sexism that is, in its own way, every bit as harmful
as conscious discrimination.
The
absolute nadir of this takes place the morning after their first performance
together. Ally is home, sleeping in her
bed, and a figure (clearly male) walks up to her, only his hands and chest
visible. Cut to Ally waking up, a
shocked look coming over her face, who then says, “How did YOU get in here?”
Oh
but it’s ok, it’s just Jackson (her Dad let him in) come to give her a hug and
a kiss. Here again- it’s supposed to be
sweet, it’s meant to show their developing relationship, and nothing in the
film hints that something might be off about this, but in my mind the Psycho strings were starting up.
Now,
to reiterate, one could certainly argue that the film is very much aware of
this and that Cooper is in no way (at least consciously) trying to make Jackson
a hero or role model in any sense of the word.
And I while I don’t wholly agree, I can certainly see that. I definitely think that the film gets much
better in the second half in this regard; although we never get as much focus
on Ally as I would have liked, there is a clear respect and parity between
them, and the film becomes much more explicit in examining just how thoroughly
messed up Jackson has become and how damaging that is to him and everyone
around him. The final sequences, for me,
had all the weight and emotion that the early “big scenes” clearly wanted to
have but lacked.
Maybe
I’m making mountains out of molehills here.
Maybe I’m just not able to get over my rather negative issues with Cooper’s
previous films. Mostly, I just feel
tired. Tired that we once again have a
Bradley Cooper vehicle out that is good, but not great, that is being fawned
over by the masses, and which is overwhelmingly likely to garner huge numbers
of nominations and awards at the expense of smaller, lesser-known, more daring
films, and which most people will have completely forgotten having seen in a
year or two.
But
I will work to not hold that against this film, because the poor bastard doesn’t
deserve that. Lady Gaga herself is
amazing, and around her, A Star Is Born
is fine. Really, it’s fine. This is fine.
It’s
fine.
-Noah Franc
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