One of the last scenes of “A Star is Born” certainly had the most impact: the suicide scene.
This 3 minute and 24 second scene has enough emotion and tragedy built into it to make someone cry for days. The beginning pictures the red truck facing the garage, no movement, no sound. The camera angle is then switched to the opposite direction showing only the car door and below where Cooper slowly steps out with one foot at a time. The sounds of rustling, loud breaths, sniffles, stumbling of his boot heels, and clumsily slamming of the car door are heightened and the audience becomes concerned. Further, the camera is now following Cooper, still from the waist down, and the swinging of the belt in his hand and unsteady walking are the main focus. The audience wants to see his face to understand what is going on but are kept in suspense due to the POV of the camera. Everything seems to slow down as it takes about 30 whole seconds for Cooper to place his hat down on the cabinet and a soft cry is heard, but still not seen which continues to confuse and scare the viewers. The scene then cuts to a close up of his face as he walks towards the camera and the background is blurred out with blaring garage lights. A look of lost hope and slamming of the garage door is followed by a scene cut to Lady Gaga’s on stage performance with flashing lights and an uproar from the crowd, contrasting the 2 moods of the two actors happening at once. The chaotic costume change for Lady Gaga seems to be the opposite of Coopers slow, agonizing end. The audience cringes as the camera cut goes from Lady Gaga on stage saying “Give it up for my husband Jackson” with clapping from crowd to Bradly Cooper nowhere to be seen and the dog whimpering outside the garage door in otherwise silence. The camera then shifts POV again and is zooming in on the front of the house with nothing but red and blue lights flashing, signaling the police have arrived.
The audience has then realized what happened and is devastated that it had to be that way. The camera angles and camera cuts built this heartbreaking emotion and suspense that ultimately made the audience feel that way.
life of lyub 