A Star Is Born: explained

One of my favorite things about narrative, especially in film, is how stories can add layers of meaning by having characters as symbolic representations of abstract concepts. A Star is Born does this really well, creating a whole secondary dimension of meaning to the movie—especially when it comes to the ending. 

Gravity is a go-to example for how this layering works.

On the most superficial level, Gravity is about a disaster in space that leaves an astronaut struggling against seemingly impossible odds to make it back to Earth. That superficial level results in a pretty thrilling experience, both narratively and visually. But on a symbolic level there’s this dynamic conflict between “overwhelming depression” and “the will to live”. The story’s main environment, outer space, symbolically represents the overwhelming depression—the coldness, the darkness, the emptiness, the vastness, the loneliness, the peril—while Sandra Bullock’s character represents the will to live. This additional meaning elevates the emotional energy of Gravity so that when Bullock arrives back on Earth…there’s a sense of not only relief but catharsis.

So, the ending of A Star is Born…

Who is what and what is who?

In A Star is Born we have three characters who are symbolic:

• Ally (Lady Gaga) represents raw talent.
• Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) the artistic spirit.
• Rez (Rafi Gavron) the commercial spirit.

So while the superficial story is about Ally’s rise to stardom and her complicated love and marriage with Jackson, when you examine only the symbolic layer of the film…a different narrative plays out. 

In the symbolic layer, Jackson is no longer Ally’s husband—he represents the artistic spirit, in all its glory and bedevilment. Rez represents the industry, the commercial, the mainstream, the business side of it all. We watch these two forces battle for Ally’s raw talent.  

With this in mind, there’s a transformation of certain moments. In particular that hard-to-watch scene where a drunken Jackson confronts Ally in the bathtub, telling her she’s ugly and her SNL performance was embarrassing. The surface of that scene is a husband and wife fighting. While the symbolism is an artist struggling with compromises made for the sake of commercial appeal. Jackson being this voice of art calling out Ally for reducing herself to performing a song about “why’d you come around me with an ass like that”. It also reflects, I’m sure, Ally’s own internal misgivings that she can’t admit to herself. 

Nearly 100% of Rez’s lines are telling Ally what to do to sell more albums and become more popular. Change your hair. Dance. Write catchy but stupid pop songs. Or arguing with Jackson. He’s the allure of success. Dangling the carrot in front of Ally. Reshaping her into something that’s not her. But something she’s willing to become because she, like most people, has an ego. Is it so wrong to want to succeed? To want fans? Money? Recognition? Popularity? If that means dancing, why not? If that means a stupid but catchy song here and there…why not? If that means a different hair color…is that so bad?

This is why A Star Is Born has resonated with audiences more than many would expect. Because it’s not just a superficial drama. The symbolic and metaphoric story that runs under the surface provides vitality and resonates with audiences who have experienced similar confrontation between their desire to do what they love and their desire to be loved.

The message in the bottle

A Star is Born creates nuance by portraying both the pros and cons of both the artistic and commercial spirits. 

When Ally was on tour with Jackson, writing, performing—she gained fans and reputation and the opportunity for commercial success. Jackson is presented as one of the most famous musicians in that world, something he accomplished by sticking to his artistic ideals. Even then, though, Jackson is the most tormented character in the movie. Haunted by his past and his future (the tinnitus that will eventually cause permanent hearing loss). The very things that allow his art to thrive are what drive him towards his eventual suicide. 

Whereas when Ally’s with Rez, she becomes a mainstream success. Winning the Grammy for best new artist. A best-selling album. A giant tour. All the things those of us at the beginning of our artistic journey dream of. But there are compromises. Her songs are no longer from her soul. She has to present a false image of who she is. She physically changes. She mentally changes. Having been reduced to a commodity, she no longer embodies and displays the same creative power. It’s telling that the film shields us from hearing this part of Ally’s career. Early on, how many times do we see her perform? But once she’s “Ally”, she loses touch, and so do we.    

Is one really better than the other? It seems that A Star is Born presents us with the conclusion that either path can lead to success and either path can lead to doom. 

There are movies that opt only to present this philosophical tension. In such cases, the film will end with no real resolution—often with the characters in a state of flux. Examples of this include, Shutter Island, Inception, Birdman, The Lobster. The purpose of such endings is to cause viewers to reflect on which option they think is better, which one they’d take, etc. Those films don’t want to answer the question. They just want to ask it. At the end of Inception, the question is: if you can’t tell the difference, does it matter if you live in a dream or reality? At the end of Shutter Island, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character straight up wonders out loud, “Which would be worse? To live as a monster? Or to die as a good man?” before being led off for a lobotomy. 

If A Star is Born was such a movie, it would have ended with Ally at a crossroads. Having to decide if she would follow in Jackson’s footsteps or go do something Rez wants her to do. Instead, it takes a stance. 

The power of experience

It’s meaningful that the last conversation Jackson has is with Rez. The vulnerable artistic spirit is overwhelmed by the methodical and cutthroat nature of the commercial spirit. Not long after, Jackson commits suicide.

At first glance, this seems like a dark conclusion. Ally is now without her artistic guide. The commercial essentially murdered it. How does that square with the last scene where Ally rediscovers her true voice and performs with such power and beauty?

I think this gets at a couple things.

First, the nature of loss. Many people who lose loved ones early in their lives—parents, siblings, significant others—talk about the hurt, the grief, the struggle…but also the perspective they gain…the strength they gain. That’s because the loss was so awful it sets a new, much much much higher bar for what’s truly painful in life. All the things that had seemed so frustrating and stressful lose their power. How could they compare to what you just went through? They can’t. In that way, the loss makes it so you can walk through fire. Likewise, the sense of how fragile life is, how easily you or someone you love can simply cease to exist, causes a re-ordering of priorities. 

Second, the artistic cycle of death and rebirth. When you read interviews from artists in all areas, they talk about struggling with their artistic instincts and professional demands. Many discuss reaching a point where the thing they loved is now nothing more than a job. Worse yet, others burn out completely. Whatever connection they had to the muse, to the craft, whatever unique passion ignited from the work—it’s gone. In these situations the person often quits their trade and does something that has nothing to do with art or creativity. Unfortunately, a lot of people never recover from the burn out. Some do, though. And typically when that passion returns it’s something that’s cherished, something that’s given supremacy above all other concerns. Sales and popularity be damned. 

Jackson’s death is a tremendous loss for Ally. But the experience of loss grants her the power of a perspective on life she could never have obtained any other way. It renders meaningless all of the commercial success that had seemed so important, so necessary. There’s mourning, of course. Guilt. Anguish. But the depth and sublimity of those emotions is the very thing that allows Ally to move through the artistic cycle. Having experienced life, then death, she now undergoes rebirth.

It’s fitting she started the movie as Ally Campana, became the singular “Ally”, before, finally, in that last scene, Ally Maine. On the superficial level, that’s sweet and heartfelt. On the symbolic level, it’s a proclamation that art is primary, and the road to understanding that can be as painful as it is beautiful. 

With the symbolic level in mind read the lyrics to the last song, “Never Love Again”. 

[Verse 1]
Wish I could, I could’ve said goodbye
I would’ve said what I wanted to
Maybe even cried for you
If I knew, it would be the last time
I would’ve broke my heart in two
Tryin’ to save a part of you

[Chorus]
Don’t want to feel another touch
Don’t wanna start another fire
Don’t wanna know another kiss
No other name falling off my lips
Don’t wanna to give my heart away
To another stranger
Or let another day begin
Won’t even let the sunlight in
No, I’ll never love again
I’ll never love again
Ooouuu ooou oou

Oh

[Verse 2]
When we first met
I never thought that I would fall
I never thought that I’d find myself
Lying in your arms
And I want to pretend that it’s not true
Oh baby, that you’re gone
‘Cause my world keeps turning, and turning, and turning
And I’m not movin’ on

[Chorus]
Don’t want to feel another touch
Don’t wanna start another fire
Don’t wanna know another kiss
No other name falling off my lips
Don’t wanna give my heart away
To another stranger
Or let another day begin
Won’t even let the sunlight in
No, I’ll never love

[Bridge]
I don’t wanna know this feeling
Unless it’s you and me
I don’t wanna waste a moment, ooh
And I don’t wanna give somebody else the better part of me
I would rather wait for you
Hoooo ouuu

[Chorus]
Don’t want to feel another touch
Don’t want to start another fire
Don’t want to know another kiss
Baby unless they are your lips
Don’t want to give my heart away to another stranger
Or let another day begin
Won’t even let the sunlight in
Oooo I’ll never love again
Love again
I’ll never love again
I’ll never love
Again

[Outro]
I won’t I won’t I swear I can’t
I wish I could but I just won’t
I’ll never love again
I’ll never love
Again
Who oo oo oo oo
Hmmm

I’ll Never Love Again – Lady Gaga (Source)