Bradley Cooper, actor and now director, perfectly captures a plethora of ideas, feelings and emotions in his beautiful and groundbreaking film, “A Star is Born”.

“A Star is Born” is about a famous singer/songwriter Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper), who finds himself meeting a struggling musician, Ally (Lady Gaga). Maine falls in love with Ally and he urges her to start performing and writing songs. Ally soon starts a career and Maine helps her along the way while also struggling with his inner demons.

The film was co-written, directed and stars Cooper. Even more impressive is that this film was Cooper’s directorial debut. Most would not suspect this, however, given that the movie is directed wonderfully. Part of what makes Cooper’s directing style so enjoyable is how beautifully he crafts each scene. Most of the film is shot in close-ups, making it more intimate and personal experience. The way he chooses to frame each scene adds the film’s overall beauty, thus creating an enticing and realistic world.

One of the best parts of the film is how well Cooper depicts the world of music. Getting this right was an essential part of making sure the movie was good, given that music plays a substantial role in the film. All of the performances in the movie focus primarily on the characters and the emotions they express while their performing. There is a distinct lack of shots showing the audiences and how they react, again creating a more secluded and intimate world between the audience and the characters.

The movie features a fantastic and unique cast. Cooper and his co-star Lady Gaga, completely steal the show, both offering incredible performances. The scenes are performed so well that it doesn’t seem like there was a script at all. Part of the reason the dialogue is so believable is because the two actors have such great chemistry.  The film also features performances from comedians Andrew Dice Clay, and Dave Chappelle, who both, surprisingly play more serious characters.

For the most part, the movie is relatively realistic and entertaining.  There was some dialogue that came across as unrealistic or cliche, but the movie made up for it in its beautiful and mesmerizing visuals. The only real problems I had with the movie was its pacing and the way the film ended. The way the film ended was fine story-wise, but as the movie went on it became more and more trite. Towards the last half of the movie, I found myself being taken out of the world due to choices some of the characters were making and the way they were being depicted. Nevertheless, the movie still ended on a strong note.

The pacing of the film felt a bit off right from the beginning. Although much time had passed since we were first introduced to the characters, where they were and where they were going seemed to arrive all too fast. Bold decisions were made and life-changing events were happening so quickly and so often to the characters that I had a hard time keeping track of what to feel. This way of telling the story, however, made the film that much more interesting. It didn’t take ages to get to plot points and it didn’t wait for its characters to come to terms with the events that were unfolding, which made the story more believable, in a sense. In short, the pacing and the sometimes cliche screenplay did not take away from the movies overall enjoyability.

This dramatic and enticing film has a little something for everybody. It’s dramatic, romantic, funny, tragic, and features an amazing soundtrack. Sure some of it may seem a bit cheesy, but Cooper sure knows how to tug on the heartstrings in the right way. So next time you find yourself in the mood to watch a great film and maybe even get a little emotional, “A Star is Born” will not disappoint.