A Star Is Born

It seems like I've been anticipating A Star Is Born for such a long time and I finally had the opportunity to see a Thursday preview last night.  Wow!  Bradley Cooper plays Jackson Maine, an alcoholic and drug-addicted rock star who clearly has many inner demons.  Strung out after a gig, he has his driver find a bar where he can continue getting wasted but, instead, he finds Ally (Lady Gaga), a young singer/songwriter who is so insecure about her looks that she pretends to perform in drag.  He is captivated by her and, after she sings him one of her original songs, he pulls her on stage to perform it with him.  She eventually joins him on tour and gets noticed by a record producer who offers her a contract.  Conflict arises as Ally becomes successful and Jack's addictions become more severe.  I saw the Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofferson version so long ago that, while I knew the basic premise of the story, I didn't remember many of the details so I was completely blown away by my emotional response to the tragic love story.  Bradley Cooper is hit or miss with me but his performance is incredible and so affecting, especially in a scene where Jackson breaks down and apologizes to Ally.  I've always respected Lady Gaga as a gifted musician despite her rather outlandish stage persona and she, as expected, gives a tour de force performance while on stage but she is also very believable in the role of a singer who doubts herself.  The chemistry between Cooper and Gaga is palpable and I really cared about their relationship.  I also really enjoyed seeing Anthony Ramos as Ally's friend Ramon.  Cooper wrote many of the songs with Lukas Nelson, the lead singer of Promise of the Real (the band appears in the movie as Jackson's band), and he sings and plays the guitar live on screen as well which really impressed me!  I was also impressed by Cooper's direction (it is his directorial debut) because he gives such an intimate portrait of two flawed characters.  I loved this movie!  It is definitely one of my favorite movies of the year and I highly recommend it!

Note:  I have seen Promise of the Real in concert and I really like their sound so I loved the music (I downloaded the album before the credits finished).