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"It's the same story, which repeats itself over and over again – forever." When Jackson Maine, the faded rock star played by Bradley Cooper, says that by the end of the new "A Star Is Born", you could be a little forgiven for the whiplash. He talks about music, the 12 notes in an octave that can be combined endlessly to find something new. But he could speak for the film itself, the fourth (at least) version of a fable of the show that is as impossible to kill as it is often told.
And often very well said, including here. If the 1937 and 1954 versions of "A Star Is Born" remain solid and true, and the 1976 remake of Barbra Streisand is an effective artifact of his era – and "What Price Hollywood?" From 1932 is still considered a Sassy and nervous precursor – the latest update, led by Cooper and built on the solid bones of the 1937 screenplay by William Wellman and Robert Carson, has heart, soul and nerve.
Lady Gaga, before and after the transformation of her duck character from the outer suburbs into a superstar swan, has mostly And he has Cooper both in front of the camera as the ruin of a celebrity who is scolding and uncertain and behind with an insurance unexpected for the first time. The first 45 minutes of "A Star Is Born" live up to what traditional cinema produces in the 21st century, and the rest is only slightly less impressive. We are quite willing to come up with a story that we have already heard as long as his emotions can be refreshed convincingly. This is what happens here.
That is to say, my heart stopped and maybe yours too, when Ally, a waitress and street singer with a round nose and a huge voice, turns to the camera, singing "La Vie in Rose "In a drag bar. She looks at us, Jackson and us, eyes in the eye, and in a few seconds, a movie star is born, as well as a director. One of the reasons that "A Star Is Born" has worked and continues to work is that it often features an actress whose story – the ascent, the talent, the chutzpah – echoes that of the character. Like Judy Garland and Streisand, the same goes for Stefani Germanotta / Lady Gaga, who is particularly attractive. Ally's role is so meta that she casts doubt on Lady Gaga's ability to play other types of roles; the performance is so exciting that you do not worry about it at a distance.
After Ally met Jackson, who walked around the drag club in an alcoholic fog after making the front row of the main arena show, the movie slows the progress of the show. an intimate discovery session that extends to the early hours of the morning and overnight supermarket parking. The footage is extremely charming because Cooper's director keeps the camera closed and the actors Cooper and Gaga reveal layers of pain, nostalgia, insecurity and ambition. Plus, they are just hot together, which matters.
Jackson will soon accompany Ally in his private jet for his next concert, with his best friend, Ramon (Anthony Ramos), and allow him to share the stage and sing "The Shallow," his song that he wrote thoughtfully. and in record time arranged for a full group. The fact that she joins him to improvise on the spot complex yet perfectly harmonized choruses is a nod to the absurd magic of cinema that we aspire to in our original myths. That the scene works, breathtaking, is strictly due to the stars and the film's making, which includes Matthew Libatique's piquant cinematography and Jay Cassidy's brilliantly choreographed montage.
"A star is born" only turns into a loose and comfortable outfit when the romance is established and that Ally begins its climb to the top. In a film that sometimes accuses too much of visual forebodings (this billboard with the noose) and worn out plots, we know that we found our villain with the arrival of Rex (Rafi Gavron), a young, extremely connected record producer. He is the one who will turn Ally into a Top 40 pop pie, with support dancers and orange hair; it is he who shows no sympathy while Jackson, so absorbed, yields to his demons and begins the long descent.
If there is a flaw in this "Star", it is that the movie never says clearly what the movie thinks of the transformation of Ally. Jackson Maine is a bit of a country, a little Skynyrd, a little Eddie Vedder, maybe a little Neil Young on the crisp guitar of rawk – it's his own genre, but reminiscent of a rock past shared by many moviegoers. His flagship song has a chorus that says "Maybe the time has come to let old habits die," but it can be said to be ambivalent.
Ally begins singing her solo songs on a Carole King piano (whose album cover "Tapestry" is hung on the wall of her bedroom), but she quickly addresses the style and success of her work. an Adele, a Katy Perry, a Sia a Lady Gaga. We see this rising through the suspicious eyes of her new husband, but the question of whether we intend to share his disapproval remains unclear, perhaps for fear of evading the outsourcing of his derogatory sales of the sound album . "A star is born" aims more than an audience. It seems a little nervous, they could cancel each other out.
Yet, this sadness and uncertainty are there, voiced by the concerned and supportive men surrounding Jackson, including a much older brother and tour director, Bobby (precious Sam Elliott), and a childhood friend and a member of group performed by Dave Chappelle, whose cameo shares clear wisdom about the difficulties of fame. Ally just has the girls back at the drag bar, which, along with Ramon, largely disappear from the movie; this producer, who is British (boo) and wears girly socks; and an adorable and selfish mook of a father (Andrew Dice Clay). "A star is born" lives mainly in the world of Jackson, from where he casts a worried look at Ally. For these reasons, among others, the success will be enormous.
Still, the film also manages to have its cake in the Top 40 and its apple pie in the center of the United States, and every time Cooper returns to the central relationship, he feels confused and honest – a quality that this "star Shares with the versions of 1937 and 1954. The director of Cooper nods to the latter with a sequence of opening title extremely simple (it's like being in a poster) and finds the way to go up the Jackson's humiliation of humiliation at the awards ceremony, a moment that surpasses every previous pure horror self-immolation.
To his credit, the film never excuses Jackson to be anything other than the author of his own woes. But it digs a little deeper than before the intense and ironic loss of self that can occur with celebrity, especially at the age of 24-7, with selfies and cell phones. Everyone except Jackson Maine knows who Jackson Maine is and everyone wants to have a hand. "I'm sorry, but I had to," says a supermarket cashier (Luenell) after taking a discreet picture of himself and Ally on that first night together. "It's okay," Jackson mumbles. "No, it's not," slaps Ally.
This sentence suggests that she has a lot to learn from celebrity but also the strength to learn. The gain comes nearly two hours later, with a memorable performance of "I'll Never Love Again" that will leave you a completely soggy mess. Whether you like it or not. "A star is born" presses the reset button of one of our most primitive stories at bedtime, the arrival tale and the fall that accompanies it, as if there was still room for a. It offers no idea of the things that a star has to do to support. For that, I suppose, there is "Sunset Blvd".
★★★½
A STAR IS BORN
Directed by Bradley Cooper. Written by Cooper, Eric Roth and Will Fetters, from a story by William Wellman and Robert Carson. With Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper. Boston theaters, Coolidge Corner, West Newton, suburbs. 135 minutes. R (language throughout the exercise, sexuality / nudity, addiction).
Ty Burr can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @tyburr.
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