The book feels like a writer working within his limits and not breaking any new ground, believes KEN COCKBURN
Latest editorial
Going Gaga
MARIA DUARTE sees the pop star give a tremendous performance in A Star is Born
PRAGYA AGARWAL recommends a collection of drawings that explore the relation of indigenous people to the land in south Asia, Africa and the Caribbean
CHRIS SEALE speaks to Palestinian sound artist BINT MBAREH
MARY CONWAY applauds a brave and timely two hander that explores the difference between intimacy and abuse
ANDY HEDGECOCK and MARIA DUARTE review The Thing with Feathers, Train Dreams, Sisu: Road to Revenge, and Wicked: For Good
GUILLERMO THOMAS welcomes a biography of WA Domingo, a key figure in the anti-colonial struggle in the Caribbean
A Star is Born (15)
Directed by Bradley Cooper
THIS third remake of A Star is Born is a true revelation in its ingenious and powerful on-screen coupling of Hollywood star turned film-maker Bradley Cooper and the iconic Lady Gaga.
The two are extraordinary together. Who knew Cooper could sing or play the guitar as well as he does, while Lady Gaga, stripped of make-up and gimmicky paraphernalia, shows what a talented actor and tremendous singer and artist she truly is.
The film opens with Cooper as the great rock star Jackson Maine performing at an open-air gig and having to take booze and pills before going on. On his desperate hunt for a drink after the concert, he enters a drag bar where he watches wannabe singer Ally (Lady Gaga) sing La Vie En Rose in a goose pimples-inducing performance and realises that a star is about to be born.
Similar stories
STEVE JOHNSON relishes a celebration of the commonality of folk music and its links with the struggles of working people the world over
MIK SABIERS enjoys the theatrical feminist six piece who have a lot of fun that the audience feeds off as the set rolls on
DAVID YEARSLEY compares Timothee Chalamet’s impersonation of Dylan to the real thing
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends an impressive impersonation of Bob Dylan