Good songs and bad songs - just crossed out - all songs basically have the same raw material. There are no exceptions. Whether it's "Flight of the Bumblebee" or "Despacito", everything is built from 12 tones. How they are expressed will later differentiate quality. Even the same songs can have different qualities if played differently. I could have played the same tone as Beethoven, but my game might make you grimace; not goosebumps like when I heard Beethoven's game. However, there are also musicians who play it, maybe not be like Beethoven, but still can make you cringe with his own interpretation. Everything is a matter of feel.
And that is the key why A Star is Born, the film that became Bradley Cooper's directorial debut, can touch me. A story like this has already been told, three times and it is only by Hollywood. Nothing wrong with playing the same song over and over again. But he will quickly sound monotonous. A good musician can arrange monotonous songs so it sounds new. Cooper plays the same set of narrative tones, but I feel like I hear familiar songs for the first time.
Cooper also played in this film, becoming a country-rock musician named Jackson Maine. The first time we saw it was when he shook thousands of people in a big concert with his guitar distortion riffs. He is a star, but the light starts to fade. Fans of the song memorization, no one does not know him, but not because he is at the peak of his career, but because he has begun to enter the "considered legend" phase.
He is also a heavy drinker, so he just wants to go into any bar to get a drink. No matter if he entered the drag bar, Jackson then witnessed the appearance of Ally (Lady Gaga) who performed the song "La Vie en Rose" lively. Jackson was fascinated, while Ally did not believe that the legend had just seen his appearance, let alone fascinated him. And now Jackson wants to ask him to hang out.
The main grip of this film is how it succeeded in making us believe in Jackson and Ally's relationship. We know why they are attracted to each other. Through a simple scene where Jackson and Ally stare when each presents their stage performance, it makes us immediately know that it is an expression of someone who falls in love with each other's talents and passion. Cooper and Gaga have natural and convincing chemistry. And that's why this film works; we care about what will happen to them.
Their story takes place at the intersection of the natural cycle of the entertainment world; old stars fade, while new stars are born. Jackson slowly fell down, especially with his hobby of drinking, while Ally climbed to the top since the appearance of his duet with Jackson was seen by a pop music producer. We may have seen this before. But this time we get stuck because we can feel the reality of their relationship.
We know that Cooper is a good actor, and Lady Gaga is a good singer. However, Cooper had never performed his music skills, while Gaga had never starred in a big film. In this film, they reversed expectations. Gaga really acts here. Gaga stripped her image of being an eccentric pop star, as we know it, to become an ordinary woman who is an engineer with her physical appearance. Cooper, in addition to playing the drunken character without excessive, also gives a convincing appearance as a rock star. This film might fall if the music scene feels and sounds fake. From the scene, I just found out that authenticity was obtained by recording the songs live, directly sung by Gaga and Cooper.
As a debutant director, Cooper steered with a steady hand. Simple and not showing off. He respects original material by not tinkering with the main story, but changes some details to make his work sound more melodious. Most of it is by focusing on character intimacy. We know more about Jackson and Ally's background with the existence of Sam Elliot (as Jackson's older brother) and Andrew Dice Clay (as Ally's father).
This keeps me bound by the film, even when later there are some discordant tones like the presence of pop music producer (Rafi Gavron) who is more or less rocking Jackson's and Ally's households. Cliche. Perhaps this film also wants to flirt about the reality of the world of celebrities. But he is actually more successful at the personal level. I caught A Star is Born as a love story with very touching intimacy.