The film nominated for Best Picture that has generated the most buzz is probably "A Star Is Born." I saw this film a few months ago, and while it really was quite good, featuring some nice musical numbers and good acting, I wasn't as blown away as some other critics, or members of the Academy were.
"A Star Is Born" was nominated for Best Song, Best Sound Mixing, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography, leading all films with a whopping eight nominations.
A STAR IS BORN - Official Trailer 1YouTube
The film features Lady Gaga as Ally, the main protagonist who is the star who is born, relating to the title. I typically don't like musical performers who venture into serious acting, but Gaga does a pretty good job of adopting her character as well as flexing her vocal muscles. While there were some cringe-worthy moments for sure, I think that has more to do with the writing, which we will get to later.
"Star" also features Bradley Cooper who was nominated for his role. While I thought he was good, I didn't think he was really anything better. He plays a very stereotypical alcoholic pop star, it's not as if anything new was brought to this role. He definitely won't win his category, but it was a decent performance. I'll definitely say that his performance wasn't nearly as inspiring as Ethan Hawke's in "First Reformed."
Sam Elliot was also somehow nominated for his role, which doesn't really make sense to me because he was barely in the movie. I'm thinking it was based on name recognition alone.
However, in terms of what I really liked about the film, I was really touched by the general ambiance of the film. There are some movies that just make you feel like you're immersed in the story, and "Star" does a great job of that. The music is phenomenal and Lady Gaga does an excellent job of bringing her stunning voice to the big screen. I also am a big fan of the original narrative, but I'm not convinced this writing does it justice. Still, it's a nice story.
Where I think this film really didn't succeed is in it's writing. I found myself cringing at a lot of the character-defining scenes, as well as some of the really weird lines. For example, I cringed so hard when Lady Gaga just starts full-out belting in the middle of a parking lot. Literally, nobody does that. I understand it's a movie, but surely there was a better way to introduce Gaga's character-defining song.
Is it worth it?
Overall, I liked "A Star Is Born" but not to the extent that the Academy likes it. I think it's good, just not an instant classic as some would lead you to believe. It's themes of mental illness, background, and trust are all relatable and make for a nice film.
