Directed by Bradley Cooper in his directorial debut and starring Lady Gaga (American Horror Story (tv series); Muppets Most Wanted), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook; American Hustle; American Sniper; Joy, Guardians of the Galaxy; The Place Beyond the Pines), Sam Elliott (Did You Hear About the Morgans?; Up in the Air; Ghost Rider; The Golden Compass; The Big Lebowski).
Drama, music; 136 mins; 12+
While it is easy to compare this 2018 film to its predecessors of the same name from 1976 by Frank Pierson and starring Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand, and the 1954 version by George Cukor and starring Judy Garland and James Mason, the 2018 film has a different screenplay.
Yes, it is about an established musician who plays to full stadia and who helps a young singer and actress find fame, while age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral. But this is a superb film in its own right.
The opening scene features Jack (Bradley Cooper) performing a live concert, and it feels that the cinema audience is actually attending that concert, such is the all-engulfing rhythm, beat and noise. The camerawork is non-conventional and captures Bradley Cooper who performs like an established rock star. After the concert, he is driven away and down a bottle of alcohol. But he wants more. He asks his driver to drop him at a bar, which he does, hesitatingly. Inside he discovers it's a drag club, but a friend of the doorman - who recognises him straight away and persuades him to stay and watch - gets up on stage.
Ally (Lady Gaga) performs in French and certainly impresses Jack who persuades her to go out for a drink afterwards. He drops her home and the audience is introduced to her family situation - she lives with her father, who had had a few friends over, and he gushes over her singing ability, which she puts down. Yes, she enjoys singing but she is quite modest.
What seems like the following day, Jack sends a car for Ally who chucks in her daytime job and is whisked away by car, then by private jet, to be backstage during his performance. Then he invites her to join him on stage...
Their duet is incredibly emotional and wows the audiences, both at the concert and in the cinema. From there their road together is rocky, sometimes diverging, sometime converging. The storyline is as much about their relationship as it is about her rise to fame and his descent into alcoholism, both the latter happening in parallel.
There's also Bobby (Sam Elliott), Jack's brother, who looks after Jack. But they have their ups and downs, like any siblings.
Definitely one to watch, and one which should be there during next year's awards season.
