Review: La La Land
Musicals and romance have never been my main type of movies to watch, however I became interested in La La Land after reading and watching interviews with the writer/director Damien Chazelle because he seemed truly passionate about what he was trying to do.
Then the Golden Globes happened last weekend, and La La Land set a new record for the amount of Golden Globes received by a single movie. Additionally, La La Land won every category it was nominated for – something that hasn’t happened since 1976 when A Star is Born won all 5 of its nominated categories. After such success, it seemed foolish to not try and see the movie.
And I’m happy I did.
The film is visually striking and a joy to watch. It is often colourful with its use of multiple different costumes throughout the film which I find just pop against the Los Angeles backdrop. Normally, I’m not overly drawn to the beauty of a film, preferring a great story and performances over visual style and effects, but it definitely stood out to me while watching the film.
I loved this and pretty much every use of silhouettes.
Just because this movie was incredibly pretty did not mean it was lacking on story. The story felt very real and full of emotion. The movie is about an aspiring actress and musician falling in love while working towards their respective dreams. There is a very heart breaking moment in the film where Emma Stone, who plays the actress Mia, talks about rejection in Hollywood and while I do not know the industry as I’m not an actor, it covers what so many now famous actors have said they have felt throughout the tough audition processes of Hollywood.
Speaking of that scene, Emma Stone is so great in her role. Throughout the movie she captures the hopefulness and determination of her character and brings to life her struggles. Ryan Gosling, playing a fairly accomplished jazz musician Sebastian who feels stuck in life, is equally mesmerizing. Their chemistry on this film is wonderful (I’m a bit biased since I loved them as a couple since Crazy, Stupid, Love.) and you cannot help but root for them!
Mia’s audition snapshots are hilarious!
Now for something I find to be not as positive. I found the music in the movie to just be okay. Before I went to see the movie I read one review that mentioned that the score would stick with me for weeks. I saw the movie less than a day ago and I already forget all but one song. The dancing was fantastic though! From the opening number, to Mia and Seb’s first dance together, to the magical dancing in the stars sequence, I loved every bit of it! Choreographer Mandy Moore (not the actor) prepared many dance numbers for the hit show So You Think You Can Dance that I loved as well so I’m not surprised. I also want to point out that I do not think that the failing in the music for me came from Emma Stone’s or Ryan Gosling’s performances. The actors who trained for months on singing, dancing and piano for Gosling, I think nailed their songs but rather the music was just not as memorable for me. Maybe after another watch I’ll be singing a different tune.
There was one other thing that bothered me a bit while watching the movie. It is clear after watching at least the first half of the film that director Damien Chazelle wanted a retro feel but it almost makes the timeline confusing initially. In the opening sequence the cars and costumes felt retro and the costumes continue to feel that way for at least Mia and Seb for most of the movie. So at first it’s hard to tell when the movie is set. Later on, you hear a cellphone ring and you realize that Mia drives a Prius so you know it’s modern but then there’s a retro movie theatre and Seb’s older style car to make you forget again. I imagine that Chazelle wanted almost a timeless retro feel set inside a modern Hollywood experience but it came across as a bit confusing and misleading to the audience. Overall this didn’t really affect my view of the movie.
That dude’s mustache was very distracting!
So should you go see La La Land? Absolutely! See it for the powerful story, the amazing chemistry and acting of the lead performers, for the dancing or for the gorgeous visuals – you have so many options to get out to the theatre to see for yourself.
I give it 4 J.K. Simmon’s snaps out of 5!