Negative Positive
Title: A Star is Born Fails to Capture Audience's Sympathy
Review: A Star Is Born is a disturbing film for all the wrong reasons. By failing to get the audience to sympathize with a movie star's tragic downfall, the film displays a schizophrenic quality. There is almost a breakdown in the relationship between the audience and what happens on screen. This is in no part due to the performances by the lead actors; it's the nature of the material itself. Perhaps if we were to see the James Mason character as a likeable star before failure and booze drain away his ambition and reason for living, the audience would understand what the Garland character sees in him and we could sympathize with both characters. Instead, we see Garland's character despairing over a not very likeable washed-up drunk and we're left feeling as empty as the film itself.
Is the review positive or negative? 