A crowd begins to cheer and the music amplifies. The heat on a rugged man’s fingers fiddle electric guitar strings as the crowd goes wild. Right before he leaves stage he pops pills seeming to ease pain. A bottle of alcohol is thrown back as the crowds screams are confined by car windows. The man is Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper), a successful country singer, who stumbles upon an unborn star, named Ally (Lady Gaga), at a drag bar in New York. The story is brought to life again and follows its’ predecessors of Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. The movie follows Ally and Jackson on a journey of addiction, fame and love. Ally’s charisma in the film is what drives the audience to love her. Jackson’s crudeness and his seemingly “cool” vibe allows the audience to connect to him; separating the star from the human.
Throughout the film they get a house, get married, get a dog and all seems to be going well, until Jackson has a drug psychosis and has an episode by Ally in front of millions of her fans. After this moment, the mood of the film changes. Jackson is losing his “star value,” while Ally progresses to the top. Jackson admits into a rehab center and is returned home to recover with Ally. Then, Ally invites Jackson to sing in her final show on tour and the audience almost feels at ease. As the audience watches Jackson pull out his truck, they see him open up the glove box where he finds his pills. Jackson, at this moment, overdoses and sirens soon follow the scene. The film ends with Ally singing at Jackson’s tribute concert and the audience is left with tears in their eyes. The song “Never Love Again,” captures the essence of how hard it is to lose someone to a disease like drug addiction. The film is heart wrenching, but sheds light on an issue that most people do not talk about enough.
Directed by Bradley Cooper captures the light and the dark sides of the music industry. There are highs and lows of being in the limelight; and the film does not
shy away from showing that. Jackson Maine struggles in the film with alcoholism and drugs due to childhood trauma and an ear condition. When he falls in love with the voice of a waitress named Ally at a drag bar in NYC, sparks fly from her green eyes to his blue eyes. When they meet, there is this immediate connection and he takes her from the world she knows and calls her and her nose beautiful. Ally tells him she’s been turned down because she does not fit the image of a pop star, and he challenges that.
The two set off on a journey of love and when he invites her on stage for a duet; the audience (on and off screen) feels the chemistry that Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper share. Their relationship allows Ally to advance in the music industry and we see how they deal with the hardships of marriage and drug addiction. Substance abuse is a focal point in this film and it takes a toll on the foundation of Ally and Jackson’s relationship and careers. Drug addiction is a disease and the film exhibits that. Through powerful acting and directing, Gaga and Cooper revive an old storyline and make it relevant to today. Showing the rise and fall of a star proves that fame is not always pretty. Being famous and having money does not equate to happiness. Although the film ends in death, it symbolizes all of the stars who have fallen due to the disease of addiction. Addiction consumes not only ones’ body, but ones’ mind and soul. When love and music cannot save you then what is there left?
Release Date: October 5, 2018
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Anthony Ramos, Sam Elliot, Dave Chapelle, Andrew Dice Clay
Director: Bradley Cooper
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Genre: Drama/Music/Romance Audience: 18 and Older
Rating: R
Runtime: 136 min.
Facebook: A Star Is Born
Twitter: @starisbornmovie
Instagram: @starisbornmovie
IMDB: A Star Is Born
WikiLink: A Star is Born
Autumn Skye Destarac-Saldana | Writing Contributor
B.A. | Communications | Cal State Univ – San Marcos
Autumn is a fun loving girl who is currently working on a Communications BA and Women Studies minor at CSU – San Marcos. She loves singing, traveling and watching movies. She loves all things Disney and Marvel. She aspires to be an advocate for undocumented immigrants and hopes to create a more positive narrative for the Latinx community in her years to come. Autumn loves writing and hopes to share her thoughts with the world someday. Instagram @OhDearAutumn| View My Blogs
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