La La Land is a musical that centers around an actress named Mia (Emma Stone) and a jazz performer named Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) who meet in the lovely city of Los Angeles and fall in love. We spend four seasons about their life together and how both of them are trying to achieve their respective goals.
The movie does follow some conventional romantic tropes, but it's not a bad thing at all. It's not one of those love at first sight type of stories. I see it more as two people who meet by chance, warm up to each other, and fall in love. I think the relationship feels pretty natural and it doesn't feel hamfisted in any way. I think it also helps that Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have pretty good chemistry with one another. I can buy the fact that these characters are indeed a couple.
Since La La Land is a musical, expect some musical numbers, all of which I was very impressed with. I found the music to be pretty upbeat and catchy to the point where I was tapping the floor with my feet right from the very beginning. I was also quite astounded to see that Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone could sing pretty well. Not only that, but none of the musical numbers feel forced. They come in at the right time and do their job to either keep the plot moving forward, provide some form of exposition, and the like.The cinematography in these musical numbers also help give the film a dynamic and frenetic feel. What stood out to me the most are the use of oners, or long takes, but they still give us new things to look at. Take a look at the first musical number "Another Day of Sun." I cannot remember the point where there was actually a cut. There are also some dynamic camera shots that made me wonder how they pulled it off. In the "Someone in the Crowd" sequence, there was one shot where the camera was panning down from the roof of a house to underneath a swimming pool, almost like the viewer is jumping in with the performers. That's just the icing on the cake.
I would also like to mention that this movie is pure eye candy. It is very bright and colorful thanks to the lighting and wardrobes that each of the actors wear. This is probably Los Angeles at its most stunning on the big screen. It also offers a lot of neat visuals, like when Mia and Sebastian visit the Griffith Observatory; the scene itself is absolutely beautiful to watch, take my word for it.
I was talking about this movie to a friend of mine who goes to school in Los Angeles, pursuing the art of cinematography. With that in mind, I asked her if this was a romanticized portrayal of the city. She said that it was kind of was, in a way, but the things that go on are all the more accurate. That traffic at the beginning? It happens a lot, for example. What about Mia's auditions and constant rejections? It's actually a problem most people face when trying to make their way in the entertainment industry.
This is part of why this movie is called La La Land: not only because its another name for Los Angeles, but it's also a term for a fantasy land that people grow attached to. Our dreams are what keep us going, but then the real world comes in and slap us in the face. This sort of thing plays a huge part in Mia and Sebastian's relationship. The more that I think about it, the more well-thought out this relationship is written. I have mentioned that it does follow some familiar tropes, but what they go through, while also familiar, is pretty spot on.
To illustrate what I'm trying to get across, I'd like to briefly talk about this movie called Chico and Rita, to which La La Land shares some similarities in terms of themes. It centers around a singer and a pianist who fall in love, but their goals in achieving their dreams (among other things) put them in a rough spot to the point where they have part ways for some time. I think La La Land captures this pretty well, showing that some sacrifices have to be made if someone wants to achieve their goals. It has its ups and downs.There are also the struggles of sticking to tradition and trying something new. Sebastian has a passion towards jazz music, which might be considered a dead genre. There was one part where he finds himself as part of some new jazz band who have their own unique sound. It's like what John Legend's character said, "You hold on to the past, but jazz is about the future." I'm guessing this is something that musicians in general face when it comes to getting around and being relevant.
This is why it took me a while to make a full-length review. I needed a new perspective to talk about it more. I didn't want to just talk about the story and the film-making. I wanted to read between the lines at what this movie was going for. With all that I gathered, it's actually much more brilliant than I thought it was.
I really do think La La Land is a wonderfully-made movie. The performances between the leads are amazing, the relationship is familiar but natural, its themes of sacrifice and following one's dreams are timeless, the music is great, the musical numbers are well-choreographed, and the visuals are beautiful to look at.
With that said, though, it's not a perfect movie. The biggest gripe that I have is that it suffers from ending fatigue. The runtime is a little over two hours, but I felt that it went on longer. The movie really started to wear out and I felt that it struggled to find a way to end. One scene made up for it, though, which I thought was pretty touching. Anyone who has watched it will probably know what I'm talking about.
All things considered though, there isn't much to bring the film down. It's probably one of my favorite movies this year and it is...
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I am glad I am not the only one who spotted similarities between this movie and Chico & Rita. Great post!
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