10/3/2018 1 Comment *spoiler*a star is born (2018)Director: Bradley Cooper
A Star is Born is a remake of three movies before it. It talks about a musician Jackson Maine met a struggling artist Ally at a bar. He was really attracted to Ally's talent and herself, so he brought her into the spotlight. However, as Ally becomes more and more successful in her career, Jackson suffers from alcoholism and drug addiction. I have not seen any of the three movies before, so unfortunately I am unable to do any comparison. But this movie, as Bradley Cooper's debut as a director, is an outstanding piece of work in my opinion. There is a lot of repeating signals to different following plots, which makes the movie sort of predictable but surprising at the same time. For example, in the very beginning, when he gets into the car and tries to find a bar, there is a billboard outside of the window with patterns of nooses on it. This hint is so hard to unsee, which implies Jackson's ending. There is also a gesture motif at the beginning and the ending, where Jackson says "Just wanna take another look at you.", and Ally does this slide across her face by her fingers. Cooper also uses several Ally's super close up faces to state different stages of the storyline. First one at the drag bar, Ally turns her face towards Jackson. That is when Jackson falls in love with her; The second one is at their wedding, Ally cries; The third one is towards the end, when Jackson comes out from his battle with alcohol, he sings with the piano, and Ally is right next to him and watches him play the piano. Just like they first met, she is so in love with this man and his pure talent. Another excellent clue is Ally's hair color through out the movie. She has a fight with her manager because she doesn't want to change her hair color--she wants to be herself. But later in the movie, as Jackson's addiction deteriorates, she changes her hair color to orange. It implies how she is forced to be this pop star, that she can't be herself anymore. But in the end she changes her hair back to natural color. It is really heartbreaking to watch how Jackson gradually corrupts, especially when his beloved, Ally rises as a star. I really like how tight the plot goes on from Jackson discovering Ally's talent to Ally becoming a huge star, so that it can put more effort into their relationship and Jackson's state of mind. Audiences can definitely realize how alcohol has ruined his life, but one scene really strikes me. It was when Ally visits him at the recovery center, she says she is afraid that he won't come home, because he fell in love with her when he is drunk. Now that he is awake, she is afraid that he won't love her anymore. It just shows how terrible his situation has been and how fragile their relationship could be. Rating: 7.8/10
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