Directed by:
Bradley CooperCinematography:
Matthew LibatiqueCast:
Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay, Rafi Gavron, Anthony Ramos, Dave Chappelle, Alec Baldwin, Ron Rifkin, Michael Harney (more)VOD (5)
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Raw and passionate tale of Jack and Ally, two artistic souls coming together, on stage and in life. Cooper portrays seasoned musician Jackson Maine, who discovers and falls in love with struggling artist Ally. She has given up on her dream to become a successful singer, until she meets Jack, who immediately sees her natural talent. (Warner Bros. UK)
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Reviews (15)
The beginning is awesome, the kind of hit parade that Bradley Cooper "the rockstar" sets off in front of packed stands is a cinematic opening that's unmatched by the best ever in filmmaking. It's lively, personal, authentic and with incredible energy. Actually, the whole first half of the film could be characterised in a similar way, because even in the intimate passages it doesn't lose its sparkle and fantastic atmosphere, let alone the performances of the leading duo. A film with a heavy dose of music, which paradoxically often goes sensationally acapella, because when the two main characters interact you feel that you only perceive their voices and otherwise there is silence, nothing else around. That’s to be expected with Cooper, because he's talented, and when a director tells him he'll have to learn a booming rock baritone, he will. But Lady Gaga, a non-actress, delivers a first-rate acting and emotional performance, if she does get the Oscar, nobody will be surprised. Unfortunately, the bar set by the first half does not last into the second half. The final transformation doesn't have enough pull and it's just too much to take in. Rather, it seems to me that Cooper and Libatique are subtly chasing awards with it, but it has a rather digressive effect on the viewer. It's still damn good filmmaking, though, spontaneous, full of energy and fantastic songs and performances, but it's a bit short of a full score.
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I have probably seen too many of these music dramas already, since I cannot give this movie five stars. However, I completely understand why the overall score is so high. It has quite a few surprises up its sleeve. Only, the whole time I was waiting for the finale and it didn’t manage to shock me as much as I’d wished. The first surprise was Bradley Cooper. Who would have thought that a comedy actor who became famous with the Hangover trilogy will eventually star in such a romantic epic and in addition will show everyone that he can sing and write pretty solid Southern rock? Well, another surprise was, of course, Lady Gaga. I accept her music, I respect her as a pop star, and I acknowledge that her pop music is original. Acting-wise, she wiped the floor with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, who were recently laughing at her at the Golden Globe awards. Hats off. A regular girl, who worked as a waitress, turned into a world-class star. Some of the movie scenes are literally legendary. It’s a shame, then, that the finale wasn’t as epic. Other than that, I must add that if you like music and follow the behind the scenes, you’ll be able to find a whole array of seemingly inconspicuous moments, which will however say a lot about the given scene. That’s what I really liked about it. After viewing I debated, pondered, and debated once again. Bradley and Lady Gaga blowed that cinematic universe into such dimmensions as if they were real music stars. Beautiful.
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I was skeptical about this film, but it ended up being enjoyable, touching, and Bradley Cooper deserves much admiration for his acting, directing, writing and singing. Lady Gaga has already shown in American Horror Story that she can act too and here she just strongly confirms it and I hope she gets a well-deserved Oscar. The highlight for me was Ally's first appearance on stage, she literally brings the whole stadium down with her voice. I also praise the well-chosen songs. A solid film for the genre, but I'm not the target audience. 75%.
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Full force in all directions. Jack and Ally manage to be grandiose, majestic, melodramatic, and in love. And that's why I'm so glad that Bradley Cooper, despite his maximum scale, can afford such swagger in the director's chair that he stops at all the key plot points. He knows that everyone is waiting for intersections where they have a few seconds to think, and deep down, he knows that this burning moment will decide the direction the rest of his life will take. That's why even the audience, along with the main duo, gladly pauses at such crossroads a little longer, to let every choice resonate, to let every correct decision spread warmth throughout the body, and every wrong one cut decently deep. Both participants give outstanding tour-de-force performances and provide a well-deserved ride for the film, which will first demolish box offices and then the various awards ceremonies before quickly becoming a golden classic. We're far from the shallow now.
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The melodrama, which works as long as the two of them are searching for the way to each other, are inseparable, partying backstage and sing duets. However, as soon as Ally leaves the civilian image and embarks on a horrible pop-solo career (although this is an intention, but the fact that it is hardly watchable does not change anything), it stops working, because suddenly as if Cooper did not know whether to focus more on Jack or Ally. As a result, he doesn't pay much attention to either one. Many touched topics (Jack's brother, Ally's victims, etc.) lead nowhere; which is the most striking in the case of the motif of gradual deafness. It was supposed to be the centerpiece and not a topic that you don't even know if she even knew / think of. The other half is fragmented and without pace, when you know exactly what it is aiming for, but it stretches through too many unnecessary scenes that are completely the same. And so even the final emotional overflowing song tribute will not shake disappointing impressions.
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