Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros. 
A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, is the 4th remake of the films of same name, and stars Lady Gaga who plays Ally, a struggling singer-songwriter who makes an impression on Cooper’s character Jackson Maine. Maine (Bradley Cooper) falls in love with Ally (Lady Gaga) as he turns her into a star. As Jackson Maine struggles with his own battles of drug and alcohol addiction as well as mental health struggles, Ally’s rising stardom puts a strain on their personal relationship. The star studded film also includes actors such as Sam Elliott, Comedian Dave Chappelle, Andrew Dice Clay, and Hamilton’s Anthony Ramos.

It is essentially a musical,with a soundtrack that has already gained the #1 spot on iTunes a week following its release, but forgoes the performative theatrics. Instead of breaking into song and dance, the tracks are shown through either Lady Gaga or Bradley Cooper performing at a music festival, singing in recording studio, and even includes an SNL gig complete with Alec Baldwin as the host. The film itself differs from their predecessors with a more extensive focus on Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) and sheds light on Hollywood stardom. Whereas the previous films of the franchise focused on the career climb of their female protagonists, this film offers a diegetic point of view through Cooper’s Jackson Maine. Even though the male protagonists in the films all share the same struggle with drugs and alcohol, the 2018 film starts a serious conversation on a struggle that is so prevalent and oftentimes goes unnoticed in the entertainment industry. After seeing her perform at a local bar, Maine falls in love with Ally (Gaga) and her artistry. He takes her on tour with her and her career skyrockets. This relationship, while public, encourages him to clean up his act. However, as Ally’s career is moving too fast and her simple singer-songwriter status is propelled into a commodified pop sensation, it produces anxiety in him thus causing him to turn back to his old ways. Jackson Maine is essentially an antihero. From the beginning of the movie, we are lead to believe that he is just another hedonistic rock star when in fact he’s just a very troubled being who is just trying to be a better person, not for himself, but for the people in his life. It may sound cliche, but it portrays his character as a selfless but flawed man. While Jackson Maine can’t speak for most rock stars in real life, this fiction character showcases the unnaturality of fame and its consequences.

Lady Gaga urged others to take action when you see your loved ones struggling when speaking at the Toronto Film Festival to promote her film debut. “I think that would be wonderful, not just for artists, but the whole world, if we intervene early in life when we see people struggling.” The film comes out to a year full of celebrity losses from either mental health struggles or substance abuse, such as rapper Mac Miller, Chef Anthony Bourdain, designer Kate Spade, and others.