A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born - A Longing for Change

 A woman unhappy with the modern world, wanting something more from her life. A man trying to fill the void inside him in any way possible, wanting something more from his life. What are they searching for? What are we searching for? A Star Is Born is surprisingly the film we were all in need of - it's a mirror of our society. It's a perfect depiction of the imbalances of our modern society, and Bradley Cooper does a perfect job in his debut on the director's chair, with a compassionate eye that captures the world and emotions better than many veteran directors. This visually and musically dazzling masterpiece is the translation of the longings of our society for a change - something more, something that will elevate humanity into something more humane, less shallow, that will fulfill the voids inside each and every one of us. This is what this musical masterpiece is all about - and it's so refreshing.

 The skeleton of the plot of this film is something that we already are familiar with from the previous three A Star Is Born movies. A woman with a lot of talent and big dreams meets a man who is already at the height of his artistic career in an episode of pure chance. The man presents her to the world and her career skyrockets. However, while she is reaching for the stars (and becoming one), his life goes into a downward spiral due to his self-destructive addictions. Eventually, the woman is honored with an award that cements her career and he embarrasses himself and everyone around him by walking into the award ceremony drunk, interrupting her acceptance speech. After a period of detox, the man goes back to his home only to find that he may be hindering the woman's success and kills himself. And then we have the great emotional finale - the funeral. This is the skeleton of the plot - what is in common in all the four movies.

 However, they are all different - the same story told in different times is never the same story. The brilliant aspect of this film is the way it uses an old story and makes it new and a breath of fresh air, up-to-date to our modern times. The A Star Is Born of 1937 reflected the society of the 30's, stricken by the Great Depression. The A Star Is Born of 1954 reflected the society of the 50's, recovering from the traumas and terrors of a terrible war. And the A Star Is Born reflected the society of the 70's, one that had gone through major social change brought by the Civil Rights Movement (and other movements) and the trauma caused by the Watergate scandal. So, what does the A Star Is Born of 2018 reflect? What is the society of the 2010's?

 In this film, we follow a famous rock star called Jackson Maine - played by Bradey Cooper, in such a dark, deep and layered performance, in what is probably the best male performance in the all the four movies. One day, after one of his concerts, he walks into a random bar looking for booze. He walks into a drag bar where Ally - played so incredibly and vulnerably by Lady Gaga, in one of the best debut screen performances of all time - is singing Edith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose". He's starstruck by the power in her voice and her beauty. He feels that she has a lot to say - and she does. After her act, Ally's best friend introduces Jackson to her, and this is when they meet - by pure chance; or magic, whatever you prefer. After this first encounter, where he finds out about her talent and personality, he decides to bring her to the world and convinces her to come to the public eye and show what she has inside of her to the world in one of his concerts, and she's able to blossom because of him. 

 Nowadays, we live in a shallow society, with shallow politics, shallow personalities, riddled with elusive "fake news", denialisms, and fallacious arguments, where what is physical is given more importance than what is spiritual. We live in a society dominated by superficial desires of immediate satisfaction. But we want to get away from this shallow period and take a dive into the depth of human existence, embrace it and live a more real and authentic life, a more human life, without any illusions - at least this is what I believe in, maybe I'm an optimist.

 And this is perfectly reflected in this film. Ally is a woman insecure of her talent, even though she has a real and powerful one, and she has a lot to say with it - which isn't something that many have. Jackson sees this and elevates her by forcing it to come out into the world - sometimes we need a helping hand. However, this can also be dangerous, for the world is filled with predators ready to pounce on the most vulnerable - this is exactly what happens when a manager contacts her out of the blue after one of Jackson's concerts where she sings the last song. He is able to lure her with promises of fame and recognition (the Grammys). The manager represents a system built to pander for a feeling of longing for change in the public and tricks them into remaining in the shallows with a false and short feeling of satisfaction.

 Jackson tries to warn her and tells her that she must be faithful to herself and her voice - the world is listening to her because she is bringing change and meaning to the world, and she must seize that. This is mostly because Jackson himself has fallen to the charms of instant gratification and has gone beyond the satisfaction given by the audiences in concerts - he has passed on to the satisfaction given by alcohol and drugs, and that is destroying him. He tells her she must be true to herself or she'll "lose her legs" because he has lost touch with himself and lost his own legs. He has been destroyed but he doesn't want that to happen to Ally.

 Ally resists but she is transformed by showbiz into a fast food product to be consumed by the masses, her voice, and individuality is taken away from her, turning into a superficial idealization. She's made to change the color of her hair and starts to sing meaningless pop songs that don't go along with her. This is a critique of the hypocrisy of the modern world, where individuality is supposedly cherished and incentivized, yet one must comply and think and act according to "the norm". And artists are the first ones being affected by this - they are like the canaries that were used in mines, dying first than sturdier creatures, their deaths being a warning. And this film is a warning from Bradley Cooper: something toxic is happening in our society, it's killing our artists, and soon that will happen to the rest of society. We need to pay attention to their warning and change before it's too late and we are choked by this toxicity that afflicts all of us, both figuratively and physically.

 Jackson warns Ally of this. Because of that, he's a threat to the system. That is why there is a confrontation between Ally's manager and him. However, this confrontation has an effect that isn't intended by the manager - in many ways. Jackson, like in the previous stories, starts feeling that he is hindering Ally's career and decides to remove himself from the equation by committing suicide. However terrible this is, the emotional impact this has on Ally is precisely what she needed to release herself from the shackles of the system. Jackson's suicide acts almost like gasoline on the fire burning inside Ally. There is a moment of mourning and sadness, but from this, she rises like a phoenix, in her true form. This is especially visible in the last scene - Ally turns her hair back to its natural color. And she sings in Jackson's funeral with such power and crudeness. At that moment, she's her real unapologetic self. There's a rawness in her voice, a power that is so real and emotional - which is all thanks to Gaga's otherworldly performance. At this moment, Ally has dived in, away from the shallows. She's released.

 And then, in a breath-taking cut, we are transported back to a small intimate moment between Ally and Jackson, when he was showing her "I'll Never Love Again" (the song she's singing). This cut is so brilliantly done that it will most certainly make you gasp. The transition from the electric and powerful atmosphere dominated by Lady Gaga's fabulous voice to the intimate and homely atmosphere of this small moment shared between Jackson and Ally is absolutely astounding.

 And then, after this, we go back to the movie's present, and Ally looks directly at the camera - at us - defiantly showing who she truly. She isn't shallow, she's an individual, and nothing is going to stop her anymore. She has crashed through the surface, where they can't hut her. She's far from the shallows now.

 A Star Is Born asks us to let our old, greedy ways die. It shows that it's going to be hard and that it takes a lot to change, but we need to - our existence depends on it. It's time to let the old ways die. It's time for something better for everyone. And this film is an anthem for that. That is why it's a longing for change - not a longing to go back to a certain time in the past, a simpler time (especially because there isn't such a thing as simple in life), but a longing to change society, to renew it from what has already been built and make it more modern. And A Star Is Born is a perfect example of how that can be achieved - it's the literal embodiment of that. It uses a story that is already known and creates something completely different and new. We must let the old ways die, and dive through the surface of our existence. The shallows aren't enough anymore.