*** A Star Is Born *** - Page 7

OldCamp

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Quote:
the garage scene - I get it, but imagine a movie where he thinks about it, but then ends up trumphantly returning to the stage - saved by the girl that he made a star and she returns the favor reviving his career .

I just saw it and thought the acting and music was incredible, but I didn't like the end and I agree with the above statement.

I was left with the uneasy feeling that the story line was portraying his suicide as a selfless act where he made a decision to set Ally free by taking his own life. Suicide is not selfless.it is selfish. It is an act where you directly cause harm to everyone around you. Suicidal people tend to think of their acts as helping other people, but in reality they are creating a wave of destruction and pain that most often never ends.

Quote:
That's not reality

Quote:
Life is pain

I'd argue that the way the suicide was handled in the movie was not reality. Maine killed himself to "set Ally free", but for most people, the suicide of a loved one binds them to a life of pain and regret. No one is ever set free.
Maine is then celebrated when his music gets played on the radio and Ally holds a tribute concert for him. This may happen to Hollywood stars, but in real life, suicides are not celebrated. People try to pick up the pieces and move on. The reality is that the pain is just transferred to others.

Life can indeed be painful. However, we make our own realities. I understand that this was the 4th remake and the ending followed the prior endings, but there was an opportunity here to tell an incredible and enduring love story. There was a chance to show that alcoholism and drug addiction can be overcome which I think could have inspired some people. And most of all, there was a chance to show that there is always a better option than suicide. I wish the writers would have taken that opportunity.

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Quincey P. Morris

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In reply to OldCamp • 10:12a, 4/8/19

AG

That was definitely his motivation, but, while it's been a few months since I watched it, I didn't get the impression that they really portrayed it as successful.

And really, I think those happy endings come off looking less uplifting in these kinds of movies and more of a easy fairy tale ending.

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Chase

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In reply to OldCamp • 11:12a, 4/8/19

AG

PineTreeAg said:
Quote:
the garage scene - I get it, but imagine a movie where he thinks about it, but then ends up trumphantly returning to the stage - saved by the girl that he made a star and she returns the favor reviving his career .
I just saw it and thought the acting and music was incredible, but I didn't like the end and I agree with the above statement.

I was left with the uneasy feeling that the story line was portraying his suicide as a selfless act where he made a decision to set Ally free by taking his own life. Suicide is not selfless.it is selfish. It is an act where you directly cause harm to everyone around you. Suicidal people tend to think of their acts as helping other people, but in reality they are creating a wave of destruction and pain that most often never ends.

Quote:
That's not reality
Quote:
Life is pain
I'd argue that the way the suicide was handled in the movie was not reality. Maine killed himself to "set Ally free", but for most people, the suicide of a loved one binds them to a life of pain and regret. No one is ever set free.
Maine is then celebrated when his music gets played on the radio and Ally holds a tribute concert for him. This may happen to Hollywood stars, but in real life, suicides are not celebrated. People try to pick up the pieces and move on. The reality is that the pain is just transferred to others.

Life can indeed be painful. However, we make our own realities. I understand that this was the 4th remake and the ending followed the prior endings, but there was an opportunity here to tell an incredible and enduring love story. There was a chance to show that alcoholism and drug addiction can be overcome which I think could have inspired some people. And most of all, there was a chance to show that there is always a better option than suicide. I wish the writers would have taken that opportunity.

I agree with you on almost all of this, especially that everyone makes their own realities...just as Jackson did here.

Helped along by the ******* manager providing his opinion at the worst possible moment, a lost, lonely guy that used to have music and alcohol to keep him "company" is now clean but doesn't know what to do with himself. He knows he has one good thing in his life but he also knows he isn't likely to keep from screwing it up. The little nudge from the manager is enough to make him think that he is being selfish and holding Ally back. From his side, he can't see what an objective observer would see...it's a classic tortured artist story.

1

Ulrich

Joined: Sep 5, 2005

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1:30p, 1/18/21

Here is my usual timely take after the movie comes out on TNT. There are spoilers.

No real failures of "storytelling". IMO Cooper rightly kept the focus on what mattered rather than making sure we were updated on when and where. It's a drama, not a travelogue. We understood the counterpoint of rise and fall, the emotions and relationships, and the backgrounds that set these characters on a tragic course. That's the story this movie was telling.

I think toward the end where they have both characters so uncertain and insecure was actually really good. It was palpable. And I think Jack was alluding to suicide when he mentioned at rehab that he hoped she would find the song.

I think Jack may have had more than one motive. Not just the belief that she would be better off without him, but maybe that she was going down this road of empty pop dance music and this was the only way to jar her back to her true voice. That was so important to him, more important than tours and albums.

The second Jack mentioned that he had been trying to get to the restroom, I had to fast forward through the rest of the scene. I knew it would go way over my tolerance level for humiliation.

Jack achieved what he wanted in terms of putting her career on secure footing and possibly helping her find her voice again, but he totally failed at his bigger goal of making her happy. In that respect, I think the movie showed that even if there's a certain logic to the act, ultimately it falls through and wrecks the people a suicide thinks he is going to help.

I enjoyed it quite a bit.

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NoahAg

Joined: Oct 31, 2015

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In reply to Ulrich • 3:43p, 1/18/21

"I saw Heat!"

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