A Star is Born Review: A Whirlwind of Emotions

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Olivia Haefner

“Shallow” is a song from the 2018 film A Star Is Born.

A whirlwind of emotions is one way to describe the new movie “A Star is Born.” What initially got me interested in this movie was the fact that Bradley Copper and Lady Gaga play the main roles.

“I saw A Star Is Born on the opening day at Marcus Theaters. I had very high expectations before seeing it and they were exceeded immediately. I had heard about previous versions of the film so I had an idea of what the ending would be, but it still was very impactful and was fitting for the movie,” Carson Uthe, sr., said.

In A Star is Born, Copper plays a seasoned musician with an addiction problem and rocky childhood. Gaga portrays a struggling young artist who’s lost hope in her dream. They have the complete opposite personalities, but yet they meet by fate and fall in love. Going into A Star is Born I didn’t know what to expect. I had heard a few good things about it, and a few bad things. To say the least, the movie blew me away.

“My favorite scenes were the ones taking place on stage during shows. Thanks to the style of cinematography and audio it really felt like you were there with Cooper and Gaga in front of the screaming crowd,” Uthe said.

I’ve never been a big fan of movies with singing in them, but the songs in A Star is Born were incredible. I hadn’t realized Lady Gaga’s voice was that good. I’m so used to listening to her sing pop songs like, “Alejandro” or “Poker face,” so this was a shock to me. In real-life, Lady Gaga portrays an out of the box and provocative style, which is a lot different then the heart felt ballads and innocent look in A Star is Born.

“While I do love all the fun up-beat pop songs in the movie, the heartbreaking ballads are the real standouts such as I’ll Never Love Again or Always Remember Us This Way,” Uthe said.

The songs in A Star is Born have a significant amount of meaning and depth in them. Ranging from love and sacrifice to the struggles of addiction and fame. Songs like Shallow talk about struggles in the celebrity world and coping with fame. While the song Always Remember Us This Way, talks about Ally and Jack’s love for one another. I genuinely enjoyed these heartfelt songs because of the meaning and the change of pace from the music my generation typically listens to (those being songs with fast beats like hip-hop and pop).

“I’m a huge lady Gaga fan so her character Ally was of course my favorite, I’m super impressed with her acting abilities and hope to see her do even more roles in the future. Bradley Coopers singing was surprisingly fantastic as well and very impressive with him directing as well as starring,” Uthe said.

Although A Star is Born is not Gaga’s first movie, this was her first lead role in a movie. I think she did an excellent job. Her acting along with singing was spot on and I think that’s the reason a lot of people love this movie. Her main character was someone they could relate to and see themselves in. During the movie you can see her evolution from start to finish, her struggles, and her joy and that’s what makes this movie remarkable.

“I think some of the messages that are in the film are that those who truly care about what they are doing end up getting the success they deserve, as well as having a needed message about addiction and how it affects people,” Uthe said.