The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cooper sensational with Gaga in new ‘Star’
Cooper’s excellent direction combines with his career-best performance in ‘A Star Is Born’
He enters from the rear of the stage, the crowd already noisy. ¶ Still out of view from his fans, he pops a pill — maybe two — and proceeds to walk up the stage, the crowd exploding at seeing him. ¶ And then Jackson Maine erupts into song, playing a fierce electric guitar and growling vocals into a microphone, all to the crowd’s fevered delight. ¶ So convincing is Bradley Cooper as this roots rocker in the opening moments of the new version of “A Star Is Born” that you buy into the world of this film immediately. And this song, with its thick guitar riffs, is so good you’re actually frustrated you don’t get to hear the whole thing. ¶ Were this, the third remake of “A Star Is Born” since the 1937 original, to offer little more than the best performance of the talented Cooper’s career and some decent tunes — which it does — it may have been enough to earn it a recommendation. ¶ However, thanks also to an impressive performance by Cooper’s vocally gifted costar — pop-music artist Lady Gaga — and borderline-superb direction from Cooper in his debut behind the camera, “A Star Is Born” is one of the best films of the year so far and looking like contender for film-industry awards.
After that film-opening encounter with Jackson, we are introduced to Gaga’s Ally, who works a ho-hum day job and spends some nights singing at a drag bar, where the other performers let her go on stage even though she’s not exactly one of them.
It is after Jackson’s show, when he is in dire need of another drink, that he finds this establishment.
“I don’t know if this is your kind of place,” an employee working the door, who recognizes him, tells him. “They got alcohol?” Jackson asks. “Yeah.” “Then it’s my kind of place.”
Soon, Jackson encounters Ally, the latter delivering a knockout number that sees her at one point lie down on the bar, turn her head to Jackson and lock eyes with him. He is transfixed. Jackson talks Ally into going with him to an after-hours cop bar, where she proceeds to hurt her hand punching a patron who wanted a bit too much attention from her famous new acquaintance. That leads to a trip to a convenience store, where Jackson buys Ally frozen peas to keep the swelling down. It’s cute.
They sit in the parking lot, and she sings him a song she has written.
“Holy (expletive)!” he says upon hearing her.
Jackson encourages Ally to perform her own songs — something she has resisted due to a lack of confidence — and invites her to come see him play his next gig. He won’t take no for an answer, assigning his driver to stay near her until she yields and gets in his car.
When she arrives at the show, he tries to coax her onto the stage for a duet of the song she’d sung him in that store parking lot. Understandably, she looks at him like he’s crazy, but, even as he apologizes for constructing an arrangement he doubts is perfect, he is a man determined.
“All you gotta do is trust me,” he says. “That’s all you gotta do.”
She gives into him again, of course, and together they are musical — and cinematic — magic. Their duet is a wonderful sequence, punctuated by Gaga’s powerful vocals in the tune’s emotional climax.
From then on, they are together — personally if not necessarily professionally. Their duet blows up on YouTube, which leads to the music business having an intense interest in her.
As Ally’s career is poised to take off, Jackson’s is stalling — and he doesn’t entirely favor the stylistic direction Ally is heading. The largely excellent script by Cooper, Eric Roth (“The Horse Whisperer,” “The Insider”) and Will Fetters (“The Lucky One,” “The Best of Me”) uses the subjectivity of art — in this case, popular music — to drive a wedge between the lovers. As sources of conflict go, this one’s compelling.
Jackson has other problems, as well. For starters, he suffers from tinnitus, and he’s not really taking the actions needed to improve his hearing.
And then there’s the drinking and substance abuse, this version of “A Star Is Born” hitting some of the same story beats as the 1976 version starring Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand.
The biggest misstep this “A Star Is Born” makes comes as Jackson hits rock bottom as an addict. It is a terribly over-the-top sequence, Cooper bulldozing past the line he needed to reach to illustrate the place in which the character finds himself. It’s almost laughably bad.
Mostly, though, “A Star Is Born” is a harmonic convergence of topnotch writing, acting and direction.
Cooper’s every line delivery — no, you’re not crazy, Jackson speaks with a drawl that sounds a lot like that of Sam Elliot, and you’ll come to understand why — and his every glance at his character’s new love are perfect. He offers such soulful work in front of the camera here.
And while the performance by Gaga (real name Stefani Germanotta) isn’t quite up there with Cooper’s, it nonetheless is impressive. Those of us who missed her Golden Globewinning turn on television’s “American Horror Story” a couple of years ago couldn’t quite know what to expect, but the artist known for hit songs including “Poker Face,” “Born This Way” and “Just Dance” contributes more to the film that powerhouse pipes.
“A Star Is Born” even benefits, if to a lesser degree, by supporting work turned in by veteran comics Dave Chappelle (“Chi-Raq”), as Jackson’s longtime friend, and Andrew Dice Clay (“Blue Jasmine”), as Ally’s father. (The former’s performance is almost-one-note, but you can’t help but find his character endearing.)
“A Star Is Born” won’t make a star of Cooper — he’s already that thanks to memorable turns in a wide range of films including “American Sniper,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “The Hangover” — but it should buy him even more clout in Hollywood. What he’ll do with it, both in front of and behind the camera, is something worth watching.