A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born might just be the best remake of a remake of a remake (not that it’s a hotly contested category.)

Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut is an intimate, soul-baring affair charting the upward trajectory of a pop-star-in-waiting whilst her Americana-playing husband’s own career slowly falters in no small part thanks to his crippling alcoholism.

This is one of those ‘authentic’ musicals with the music scenes acting as live performances or rehearsals rather than spontaneous fantasies of song and dance and might just be the best of the breed.

It’s a tale that doesn’t feel old, it’s very relevant with its probes into ‘authenticity’ and the notion of ‘selling out.’ It doesn’t give us easy answers and cultivates the rise and fall of this most intense of relationships.

Cooper spends most of the film in front, as well as behind, the camera in an almost unrecognisable performance channelling Rick Grimes with a full beard and greasy locks. His singing is strong and his voice deep and gruff. It’s an all-encompassing performance that looms over the film and is bound to secure awards nom's.

Lady Gaga is also a shoo-in for awards in a towering performance of her own. Miss Germanotta reaches into her own journey to portray Ally, who Cooper’s character Jackson Maine discovers in a bar in a typically stunning and virtuoso singing performance.

The film has gone through countless line-up changes and development madness and this pair were met with scepticism when the project was finally confirmed but they firmly squash those sceptics with the completed movie.

It’s in part wholesome and traditional but surprisingly non-cheesy, tender and heartfelt. Cooper’s camera knows when to linger and cut in close with some startling performance pieces which stomp all over your average festival live broadcast.

This is a certainly the surprise of the cinematic year and contender for the very best of 2018. A must-see.

5 stars *****