I have a confession: I hate musicals.
Over the weekend I watched a wonderful film – A Star Is Born (1954). I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it, because it’s a musical. Now, I’ve tried to like musicals – I really have – but with little success. I like opera, but musicals are beyond me. Maybe it has something to do with memories of The Sound of Music played endlessly on repeat seemingly for my entire childhood (apologies to Sound of Music lovers). Maybe it's because I can’t suspend disbelief enough to overcome the ludicrous sight of people bursting into song and dance in the middle of daily life. There are exceptions – I adore Top Hat, enjoyed Cabaret, and the gorgeous Tangled made me cry. But in general, musicals make me want to stuff my ears with cotton wool and hide under the covers. Even the eternally fabulous Audrey Hepburn wasn’t enough to make me sit through My Fair Lady. Similarly, although I adore Deborah Kerr, there was nothing that could make three hours of The King and I tolerable. Singin' in the Rain (oh, heresy!), High Society, and more recently, Chicago, also joined the list of musicals I couldn't bear to finish.
Lest you be thinking that I'm a little crazy, let me say, I don't hate song. Or dance. And I quite obviously love film. It's when the three elements are mashed together into one ear- and eye-watering extravaganza, I start to have a problem. Maybe I'm a minimalist at heart. In any case, musicals remain the final frontier for me.
So I was surprised, to say the least, that I enjoyed A Star Is Born. In fact, I loved it. Mostly, I was blown away by Judy Garland’s performance. Garland plays an aspiring singer and film star who is discovered by an actor on the verge of decline, a man who becomes her mentor and eventual husband. However, as her career blooms, his fades, with his alcoholism taking a toll on his life as well as her career.
This isn’t your average cheerful musical – although the song and dance numbers are exhilarating, the story line is intensely moving and deeply tragic. Most of the emotional weight is carried by Garland, who delivers a stunning performance. For the whole three hours of the film, I simply couldn’t take my eyes off her.
This is the first Judy Garland film I’ve seen (I haven’t even seen the Wizard of Oz – musicals!) and I think I've found my new favourite actress. I know next to nothing about her life or career, but I do know that she had a very hard personal life with plenty of ups and downs. And you can see it in her face. Her performance is truly extraordinary. She has a kind of desperate courage about her, a fragile, fierce tenacity that illuminates every line and every gesture. The scene where she confesses her grief and guilt over her husband’s alcoholism is gut-wrenching. When she exults, it’s with a kind of disbelief at her own happiness. When I watched the film, I saw a woman (as well as a character) who had fought, battled every inch, to have the life that she had. It is an incredibly moving performance, deeply authentic and courageous. For that reason alone it should be on anyone’s must-see Old Hollywood list.
Garland’s co-star, James Mason, also delivers a great performance. Famous for playing charismatic villains, Mason gives a faint menacing edge to his portrayal of an unstable alcoholic. He also shows real warmth and tenderness in his relationship with Garland, bringing a convincing complexity to his character.
Finally, a review of this film wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the memorable musical numbers. Some of these, such as “My Melancholy Baby”, “Born in a Trunk”, “It’s a New World”, and my personal favourite, “The Man That Got Away”, are the stuff of legend. Most of the songs were co-written by Ira Gershwin. And Garland’s voice – well, it has to be heard to be believed. Unexpectedly deep and lush, exceptionally powerful, seductive, brave, sparkling – if you’ve never heard her sing, you are missing out.
Much of the emotional heart of this film is undoubtedly due to the superb directorial skills of George Cukor. Known, rather disparagingly, as ‘the women’s director’, the openly gay Cukor was a highly personable, brilliant actor’s director, who had a special affinity with and ability to connect with female actors under his direction. He brought authentic, harmonious and delicately nuanced performances from some of the best actors of his day. He is probably my favourite director, for his ability to tell simple stories with deep humanity, compassion and authenticity. (More on his work in future posts).
I highly recommend A Star Is Born. Is there anything nicer than finding something you didn’t expect to enjoy, turn out to be a wonderful, enriching experience? I don’t think so.
[Trigger warning] [Spoiler]: This film should come with a mild trigger warning for suicide.
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Image: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/judy-garland/images/542595/title/star-born-photo
