This is the fourth instalment of the story of an undiscovered singer’s rising stardom in the face of an ageing rocker’s waning career.

Two things to disclose: I am not big on predictable, soppy films and, that Bradley Cooper makes me roll my eyes. A lot.

So, it is possible I was never going to rave about Cooper’s directorial debut, A Star is Born.

More than that, Cooper also plays one of the film’s central characters, Jack.

Jack is a drunk, over-the-hill musician who is losing his hearing, lives large and relies on his older brother Bobby, played by Sam Elliot, in order to meet his tour commitments.

Ultra-famous Jack drunkenly stumbles out of his escort car and into a drag bar after a gig one night.

He is immediately besotted by Ally (a deliciously plain-looking Lady Gaga) who performs a saucy, bar-top rendition of La Vie en Rose.

Jack is led backstage for a formal introduction and the pair strike up an instant friendship over their shared love of music.

In a bar, Ally injures her hand throwing a punch to defend Jack and they end up, romantically, in a nearby supermarket hunting for frozen peas to put it on ice.

When Jack buys Cheezels for his driver, who of course is waiting in the early hours of the night to take him and Ally home, my girlfriend leant over to me in the cinema and said she thought it was sweet.

I couldn’t help thinking that Cheezels were a shitty nutritional choice and the driver would have probably preferred to have been home in bed.

Anyway, the life of the rich and famous, I guess.

And so Jack manages to convince waitress Ally to join him for a gig across the country.

He pushes her to join him on stage - urging her to trust him - and she is incredible. Brilliant.

And from there, the pair fall madly in love and Ally continues to take the music scene by storm with her sheer talent, depth of emotion and song-writing energy.

After an all-too-brief golden period, Jack falls back off the wagon again.

His relationship with his brother breaks down altogether and his self-destructive behaviour is difficult viewing.

Meanwhile Ally’s career skyrockets as she appears to trade those heady early touring days with the band for backup dancers, late night television shows and the mad-cap costuming, hair and makeup synonymous with the pop industry today.

When she wins best new artist at the Grammys, her career is almost derailed by Jack’s spiralling behaviour.

He goes to rehab to heal and repent but some things just cannot be fixed.

Jack’s demise is sad but predictable.

This story failed to move me as it did others but I have to endorse the music, which was swirling, passionate and raw.

I loved it: Particularly the early scenes when Jack and Ally are making music together on stage in a montage of touring concerts.

Gaga has an incredible voice and it is showcased in the film.

Cooper even manages to hold his own musically.

Together the pair have a great chemistry and it helps to carry this sad love story over the line.