Yesterday, lightning literally struck the premiere of highly anticipated film, A Star Is Born, during its debut at the Venice Film Festival. But apart from that, the film which stars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, has been copping a lot of attention for its original soundtrack, for its acting, and for just how bloody good it looks.
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In this fourth remake of the love story, Cooper makes his directorial debut and plays the role of sorta has-been musician Jackson Maine who falls hard for a struggling singer named Ally (Gaga). Upon meeting, Ally has all but given up on her career but Jack convinces her to give it one last shot and pulls her up on stage to perform. She’s an instant hit and as Ally’s career grows, she finds her relationship with Jack in trouble as he battles his own alcoholic demons.
Andrew Dice, Dave Chapelle, and Sam Elliott co-star.
The role of Ally, in her many forms, has previously been played by Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand so who better to tackle it than Gaga herself.
First, you had your reviews on social media each praising Gaga’s performance.
In short:
JUST FINISHED A STAR IS BORN RUN LADY GAGA HER FUCKING OSCAR NOMINATION
— carm (@ohhhhhhmyg) September 1, 2018
And now we’ve got a bunch of critic reviews:
Indiewire praised Cooper for “delivering his best, most soulful performance while pulling double duty behind the camera” and applauded Gaga whose “magnetism most draws you into their world”.
“She instantly makes you believe in her Ally as a no-name talent despite already being one of the most successful singers on the planet.”
Overall, Indiewire gave the film a B.
Similarly, The Hollywood Reporter also praised Cooper for his directorial debut and Gaga’s “captivating” performance.
“Those establishing scenes are among the movie’s best, particularly since Gaga completely sheds her pop persona and exhibits a scrubbed-clean, relaxed appeal and a deft balance of toughness and vulnerability.”
Overall, though the film ran a little long, THR described it as “a durable tale of romance, heady fame and crushing tragedy, retold for a new generation with heart and grit.”
The Guardian absolutely frothed the film and gave it five stars in their review. This says it all: “Bradley Cooper directs and co-stars in this outrageously watchable update of the love story doomed by shifting fame.”
US Weekly gave the film 3/4 stars, called it an “irresistible musical romance”, and absolutely loved the chemistry between Gaga and Cooper.
“A film that encapsulates extravagant fame and fortune, family demons, romance travails, top-shelf tragedy and bathtub sex amid an industry that chews people up only to spit ‘em out is impossible to resist.”
Right off the bat, Variety called Star “a transcendent Hollywood movie” which “nails the rock world”. And though it’s the fourth remake of the film, it’s far more than “a throwback – it’s a reminder of the scrappy grand passion that movies are all about.”
TIME wrote the film does have its flaws but you’ll still “come away feeling something for these people” and that’s mainly down to Gaga’s “knockout performance”. Even when the movie slows down a bit, “she’s still the star of this whole show.”
Two things critics seemed to be bringing up:
- How good the first 40 minutes of the movie are
- The film goes for over two hours so it’s a little long
On Rotten Tomatoes, these reviews among many others make up the current fresh critic rating of 94 per cent. Only 1 out of 18 reviews chucked a tomato at it and this came from the Financial Times. The biggest criticism here is that after four remakes, things just get way too familiar.
A star is born will hit Aussie cinemas, October 18.
Let’s also just take a moment to really appreciate Lady Gaga at the festival.
My Lord.
#AStarIsBorn pic.twitter.com/qAcDTL2rWc
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) September 1, 2018
Thank you, Venice. 💕 #AStarIsBorn pic.twitter.com/U3XMxTwcqk
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) September 1, 2018
As for that soundtrack, it’ll be released October 5.
The soundtrack will feature new songs from both Gaga and Cooper – the two tunes you’d want to look out for are ‘Shallow’ and ‘Maybe It’s Time’.
#AStarIsBornSoundtrack features 19 songs in a wide range of musical styles + 15 dialogue tracks that will take you on a journey that mirrors the experience of seeing the film. Pre-order the music from the film now, out Oct. 5. https://t.co/2NvQvgn4w5 @StarIsBornMovie #AStarIsBorn pic.twitter.com/MEJm0bfyTs
— interscope (@Interscope) August 30, 2018
