Review: A Star Is Born

Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

A character in "A Star is Born" notes that there are 12 notes in music and that every song is some combination of those notes. In other words, there are only so many subjects you can cover in a song or, in the case of films, stories you can tell. A piece of art is judged by how it uses the available tools. Bradley Cooper's version of "A Star is Born" - the fourth over a period of 81 years - is an example of those tools being well utilized.

Anyone familiar with film history knows this story already. A male celebrity discovers a talented ingenue whose abilities have gone recognized, helps her get a shot at stardom and then begins his own eventual decline. The 1937 version of the film remains the best, but Cooper's is - for my money - the second best. It's slightly better than the good, but overly long, 1954 version with Judy Garland and towers over the financially successful but critically lambasted 1976 version with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.

This version stars Cooper - who also co-wrote the film and some of its songs - as Jackson Maine, an alt-country rocker in the vein of Ryan Adams who is aging not so gracefully. He spends much of his post-performance hours drinking away the time or taking drugs. As the film opens, he tells his driver to drop him at a dive, which turns out to be a drag bar, because it's the first place he spots that serves alcohol. Once inside, he becomes enamored with Ally (Lady Gaga), a chanteuse singing "La Vie en Rose" after putting in her shift at the restaurant where she works.

Ally is shocked to be approached by the rock star, and the two spend an evening hanging out and co-writing a song. Maine sees something in Ally that others do not. She knows that she is talented as a singer-songwriter, but notes that industry professionals have told her that her personal appearance would prevent her from being a success in the music industry. Maine pursues Ally, convinces her to attend one of his concerts and then surprises her by bringing her onstage to perform the song they co-wrote.

Similar to the previous versions of "A Star is Born," the two get married and Ally's star rises, while Jackson's begins to decline due to his drinking and drug habits. There's also an interesting side story involving Jackson's relationship with his older brother (played by the great Sam Elliott), and how the more famous brother clearly looks up to his sibling, who grudgingly attempts to keep him out of trouble. Andrew Dice Clay also pops up in a surprisingly effective supporting role as Ally's father. Ally's success also begins to nag at Jackson, especially as she is groomed to become a pop star with backup dancers and radio-friendly sounds that pale in comparison to the tunes she writes with Jackson.

So, while "A Star is Born" doesn't drift far narratively from its previous iterations, the performances and songs by Cooper and Lady Gaga result in this version being one of the better ones. Cooper proves to be a strong presence behind the camera and the film feels personal.

There's a powerful moment when Jackson instructs Ally to look at a billboard with her face on it outside of their house. She's awed by her sudden fame, but Jackson tells her that her capacity to remain a household name in the music industry is to always tell the truth to her listeners. This is a film that believes that a great piece of art - a song, for example - can change a life. "A Star is Born" might not change your life, but it's a very good cover version of a familiar song. It uses the notes that are available to tell its story well.