海角大神

The new version of 鈥淎 Star Is Born,鈥� starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, is the fourth iteration of this old warhorse. I鈥檓 guessing most audiences under 30 will not have seen the preceding three, rendering this latest version a newfound experience. But even granting that, the film鈥檚 dramatic trajectory 鈥� one star rises as another falls 鈥� is predictable pathos. The surprise is that, at least for its first half, this newest 鈥淎 Star Is Born鈥� is so powerfully fresh.

Cooper doesn鈥檛 only costar; he collaborated on the screenplay, does his own singing, and also makes an auspicious directorial debut. He plunges us into the action right from the start with a raucous amphitheater concert featuring Jackson Maine (Cooper), a country rock superstar who at this point in his career requires liquor more than adulation. Coming down from the show, he wends his way into a local bar, where he is captivated by a waitress, Ally (Lady Gaga), singing 鈥淟a Vie en Rose鈥� to the boozy patrons. 聽

This sequence has the tired trappings of 鈥渕eeting cute,鈥� except that Jackson鈥檚 fascination with her is palpable. Stunned as she is to be in his presence, Ally is no wide-eyed groupie. When they鈥檙e alone and he coaxes her into singing one of her songs, she hesitates at first and then is caught up in her own spiritedness. It鈥檚 a tender and passionate moment, and it seals the connection between them. For Jackson, Ally鈥檚 talent authenticates his desire for her. 鈥淓veryone is an artist. Everyone is talented at something,鈥� he tells her. 鈥淏ut not everyone has something to say.鈥�

He takes Ally on tour with him, and she rises to the occasion, becoming a star in her own right. In the process, she acquires a sharky manager (Rafi Gavron) and is prodded into a slick makeover, complete with crimson hair and calisthenic dance moves. Her earlier soulfulness becomes more blatantly pop. The odd thing here is that, even though it seems designed to do so, the movie doesn鈥檛 really castigate Ally for this pop makeover, perhaps because this is, after all, Lady Gaga, a performer not known for her introversion, playing the part. The filmmakers, who also include co-screenwriters Eric Roth and Will Fetters, set up a potential rift between Ally鈥檚 music and Jackson鈥檚 more countrified art and then drop it.

It鈥檚 not altogether believable that Ally would be so selfless in her devotion to Jackson as he slides ever downward; any resentment Jackson might have for Ally鈥檚 success likewise barely registers. In spite of all this, the matchup works because in this love story, the love really hits home. As opposed to the earlier versions of this story 鈥� featuring Fredric March and Janet Gaynor in 1937, Judy Garland and James Mason in 1954, and Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson in 1976 鈥� alcoholism is really delved into here as a disease. Jackson is piercingly aware that he has let Ally down with his public drunkenness and outrages, and Ally wants him to know that, in the larger sense, it鈥檚 not his fault. Because it鈥檚 more psychologically articulated, Jackson鈥檚 descent is more emotionally compelling than Ally鈥檚 ascent, which is too rapid and generic. Cooper鈥檚 performance, with its dark depths and hollows, comes as something of a surprise. (So does a great cameo from a low-key Dave Chappelle as a rocker buddy of Jackson鈥檚 who gave up the business.) Cooper connects with Jackson鈥檚 torment without once resorting to easy posturing.聽

It should not, however, come as a surprise that Lady Gaga is as good as she is here. Singer-performers have often been naturals on screen 鈥� Bette Midler, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Willie Nelson, Dean Martin, and Mary J. Blige, to list only several examples 鈥� and why not? What they do onstage is acting at its essence. I鈥檓 not sure how she pulled it off, but Lady Gaga manages to create a character who is believably both tough-minded and tenderhearted.聽

When, near the end, in the film鈥檚 most sharply written scene, Ally鈥檚 manager tells Jackson that, for the sake of her career, he has to exit her life, we can see what鈥檚 coming, and yet the brutality of the words hits home. I wish the middle section of this film didn鈥檛 sag so much, and I wish the narrative wasn鈥檛 geared up to be such an irredeemable downer. Even more so than the other versions, this 鈥淎 Star Is Born鈥� can seem like a long, slow slog. But there鈥檚 real vitality in Cooper鈥檚 direction in the early passages, and, in the performances of the costars, an understanding of the ravages of romance that justifies putting ourselves through the paces of this sad story yet again. Grade: B+ (Rated R for language throughout, some sexuality/nudity, and substance abuse.)