Film review
A star is born
Viktor Tibor Mészáros, English Language Practice Seminar, BBN-ANG-102, Eötvös Lóránd University, Budapest
In 2018 the American film industry (Warner Bros. Pictures) presented perhaps the greatest romantic drama of the year A Star is Born directed by Bradley Cooper and starring Lady Gaga. The film gives an overall view about the biggest pitfalls and the ups and downs of the show business in the frame of a musical film. In the film two careers are presented in a contrasting way. The film shows us Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper), a famous, acknowledged rockstar but struggling with serious alcohol problems, who suddenly falls in love with Ally (Lady Gaga), an ordinary girl gifted with extraordinary musical talent. The plot follows their love story and their problems which occur due to show business.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that in this film the main actors (Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga) show new sides to the audience which were hidden up to now and that is the main reason why this film became a blockbuster. Lady Gaga can be seen as never before: not only without make up, but also in a totally new role. Ally knows that she is a talented singer and would like to be more than a bar performer but does not chase success. Her sudden love for Jackson is what gives a starting point to her career, but her love for him will always be more important than fame. The performance of Bradley Cooper is a great one because he is an alcoholic but somehow he remains a likeable and sympathetic figure to the viewers throughout the film. Although there are several radical changes in the plot the characters have to deal with, for me they are not presented as complex characters.
The plot or the story follows a formal structure of the film’s narrative called compositional motivation. There is no action or event that falls outside the cause-effect logic. I would like to put the emphasis on the moment when the managers discover Ally. This moment functions as a turning point in the plot when the two careers begin to move away from each other. From that point Ally’s career is emerging until the film’s end, but on the other hand the life of Jackson begins to decline rapidly and will be on the verge of downfall near the end of the film. This fast change in the state of the plot makes the viewers believe that there will be no happy end.
Furthermore, I have to say that the film is not so rich in visual experience. For example, the sets and the spectacle are not emphasised in the film and they are rather simple than eye-catching or amazing, although the numerous extreme close ups (focusing on the face) help to highlight the importance of music in the film and serve as powerful images.
Regarding the entertainment value of the film it definitely overwhelms the audience with the wide range of emotions. There are scenes which are humorous, extremely romantic or frightful and as a result, it is able to hold the attention of the viewers even if the film is quite long.
Finally, I would like to highlight that in this film the songs and the singing are in the centre and as a result this film is not only a unique work of art in the genre of romantic dramas, but it also has a high place on the list of top musicals thanks to the remarkable job of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
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