For his control over A STAR IS BORN’s live performance scenes alone, Bradley Cooper should have been nominated for Best Director at the Oscars. I guess he’ll have to be content with his directorial debut just getting nominations for Best Picture, cinematography, sound, music and three out of four of the acting categories. A repeated reference made is to “profiles” which works both for Cooper’s love of filming characters framed against a strong light source from the side and also the rise and fall of a pop star’s image. Ally’s persona as she hits the big time doesn’t quite go full Lady Gaga, but it gets close. Speaking of Gaga, she’s almost unrecognisable as pre-fame Ally, insecure and endearing, swept off her feat by a beguiling barely-functioning-alcoholic rockstar. It is the film’s pure and heartfelt first half that grabs you with the most force, as the rest of this story we’ve seen time and time again. SSP