A Tale of Dreams
La La Land is a romantic comedy-drama musical written & directed by Damien Chazelle, who previously brought to screens the award-winning 2014 independent drama, Whiplash.
Starring Emma Stone & Ryan Gosling as the leads, La La Land introduces Stone working as a barista & aspiring actress whilst we see Gosling as a down-on-his-luck jazz musician. At somewhat low points in their lives, they meet and fall in love, leading their paths to develop & intertwine with their relationship. La La Land a reached a new feat with it's acclaim since release, winning a record-breaking amount of 7 Golden Globes at the 74th annual awards earlier this month. Many of the public masses have been wondering if the film lives up to it's accolades, if it lives up to it's reputation that describes it as "a love letter to Hollywood". It's not. It's a love letter to following what you love itself: your dreams. That letter is sealed in an envelope of chord-striking themes, bold performances & captivating music that constantly feels first class.
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| These two: <3 |
Opening onto a Los Angeles Highway; you're whisked into a road-wide performance of the first of the Justin Hurwitz-composed & orchestrated musical soundtrack, Another Day of the Sun, before the 40's/50's-esque title card appears onscreen. Some may view this an unnecessary opener, having nothing to do with the remainder of the film that detracts from the escapism but it's actually a welcome well-fitting introduction. This first musical number doesn't involve the two leads but it prepares the audience for the type of tone they're in for, as the beginning of La La Land's incredible set of soundtracks, vocals & choreography.
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| Effects & set pieces are used to make music sequences mesmerising |
Speaking of the musical numbers, a great aspect La La Land is the two leads who perform most of them. Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone are even better together onscreen than when they're apart. Being already long time friends & working together in previous films, it feels like sparks are flying off the screen when the two interact, as if the story & characters were written specifically for them. You can even tell how much fun they've had creating this film, immersing you so well in their humour-filled & intense moments. Stone wonderfully plays a worn down but positive Mia Dolan that charms audiences with her gorgeous quirks alongside raw, emotional pain that becomes laid bare. Gosling raises the bar above an already-dynamic set of performances as stubborn yet determined Sebastian Wilder: with all aspects displaying nothing but the sheer passion & spots of comedic talent he's put into the role. Their performances are part of what make the film's musical numbers so captivatingly integrated. Whenever a character would start singing in other musicals, it would sometimes be received with a sigh of inconvenience & checking their watches, due to it abruptly detracting away from the story & feeling out of place (*cough* Les Misérables *cough*) . The execution of transitions into the musical sequences are so seamless & delicately orchestrated, you almost forget you're watching a musical. You welcome them as elevating parts of the story as you feel like you're embraced by Gosling & Stone's perfect chemistry-enhanced vocals, wrapped in between expertly honed instrumentals.
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| Oh & J. K. Simmons is in it so that's a win |
What's really striking are it's themes & what you learn once you go into what they represent. As mentioned before, many have been describing La La Land as a loving tribute to Hollywood which others, myself included, would disagree. Whilst it's gorgeous set pieces & aesthetics do pay homage to the path of stardom that entertainers dream of, the film's more like a middle finger to it's actual reality. It explores how patriarchal, pretentious & cruel the entertainment industry can be, some of which are drawn from real life experiences. Emma Stone's Mia's earlier scenes include being in the middle of acting out a scene during an audition when the casting agent allows a midway interruption just to talk about plans for lunch. This is adapted from an actual audition Ryan Gosling himself had. Emma Stone's praiseworthy performance extends to being able to potently express how much continuous rejection whilst trying to find success as an actor/actress chips away at you over time.
As we look further at Gosling's Sebastian, we find him on a different end of the spectrum of difficult trials in entertainment. Whilst Mia struggles to succeed in a massive yet competitive industry, Sebastian is a brilliant jazz musician who is endlessly toiling to keep jazz alive. It's a dying art that he's endlessly passionate about & eager to share with the world but has been continuously knocked back in the lack of demand, being forced to play Christmas songs in restaurants instead just to find work. Whilst Emma Stone's performance as Mia has been given such well-deserved praise, it cannot be helped to think that Gosling has unfortunately been a bit underrated by comparison. There aren't many actors who'd be capable of portraying a character who fights so hard to keep his passion alive, against an industry who wants to let it die, simultaneously hitting comedic moments just as hard. In addition to actually learning to tap dance & play piano just for the film, Gosling's able to achieve all of this flawlessly as one of the best actors working today.
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| Gosling plays the newly-learned piano with such passion as if he's done it his whole life |
As much as La La Land is a love story, it's even more a story of compromise. It boldly looks at how having someone you love in your life can strengthen your journey to your goals & vice versa. On the other hand, it also realistically shows how sometimes one has to compromise for the other. Stripping the results of being forced to compromise your priorities bare, it's when you realise this is not a story following the standard tropes of musical romances you've seen before. It's a tale that's grounded in reality but shrouded in the light of bright aesthetic aspects & fittingly enthralling musical traits.
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| Emma Stone surprisingly gives a career-defining performance |
With there being different types of film goers, La La Land will be loved on different levels for different reasons. Certain parts into it's design will be loved more than others. Personally, the narrowly dominant ingredient in this feast of a film will be it's invisible third lead: Jazz. As Gosling's Sebastian accurately hits on the head; this type of music is dying because of it being overshadowed by changing, conflicting trends & that cause it to be underrated in today's world, when it's actually gushing with life & soul. Including a particular scene where Sebastian takes Mia to a jazz club, you feel like the genre deserves so much more love than it's artists get. Composing; altering, adapting, improvising, all whilst playing for an audience are talents of a Jazz musician that joyfully come in a showcase as part of La La Land's package. It makes you want to Google your nearest live jazz club afterwards just so you can encapsulate the fiery enthusiasm Sebastian has for this music.
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| Bless him |
Final Thoughts
At a time when it feels like a lost art, Damien Chazelle brings life back into the musical genre by injecting it with a film that not only perfectly hones the craft of creating escapism, but also the craft of creating awe-inspiring wonder. Even if you're unable to relate to the themes explored, career-best performances by Gosling & Stone act out a perfectly written script that will have you emotionally invested all the more until the credits roll. It also cannot be forgotten to mention that your love for Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone will leap higher than ever before, if you didn't love them enough already anyway. It's a both an experience & a charmingly compelling narrative. When you're not listening to the film's soundtrack playlist for the 113th time in the 4 days since you've seen it (definitely not me at all....), you'll be thinking about La La Land for months to come. The mixture of musical sequences & storytelling are performed & integrated to such a level of perfection, La La Land doesn't even feel like it's a musical. It's a masterpiece.
Rating: 10/10
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