In many ways, La La Land's identity as a modern
Hollywood musical is a perfect reflection of its overall themes. A
lot of people say that Hollywood musicals are dead, but really
they're about as dead as westerns or film noir. Which is to say
they're not dead at all, just in a state of cultural dormancy, only
coming out of hibernation every couple years to remind us why it was
once a dominant cornerstone of the movie system. Most musicals of the last decade or so have been adaptations of
well established Broadway shows (Trust me, it's only a matter of time
before Hamilton inevitably gets the Hollywood treatment), but
there hasn't really been a recent one that I can think of that is
unique to film. La La Land fills
that niche and then some with this love letter to Old Hollywood that
romanticizes everything that makes the movies so great, while
anchoring everything to its disappointing reality, even during the
moments when its characters literally fly.
Our story follows two
struggling artists living in Los Angeles. Mia (Emma Stone) is an
actress and playwright going from failed audition to failed audition
while working as a barista on the Warner Bros lot. Sebastian (Ryan
Gosling) is a talented pianist hopping from one humiliating gig to
another who wants to open his own jazz club. They meet, fall in love,
get creative, share their passions and ambitions, get recognized for
their talents, get side-tracked by life, and inadvertently cut each
others' aspirations short when things aren't going as they hoped they
would. If that plot summary sounds a little too threadbare, that's
because it's a fairly simple story. But simple can be very powerful,
and it gives the movie more room to show off its real strengths.
To be honest, I was a
little bit iffy about seeing this movie at first since musicals
aren't exactly my cup of tea, and I probably would've skipped it if
not for its director, Damien Chazelle. Not only was
his previous film, Whiplash, one of my favorite movies of 2014, but it established Chazelle
as a true craftsman with a real focus and talent just threatening to
bubble over. Like Whiplash, La La Land
does have its major focus on music, something that Chazelle is
clearly passionate about, but where the former was a psychodrama as
intense and unpredictable as the jazz music its main character was
obsessed with, the latter is a breezy but highly technical and
elaborate love letter to the Hollywood musicals of days past.
It has all the
hallmarks of a classic musical: elaborate choreography and camera
work, dramatic lighting cues, vibrant colors and costume (Oh my god,
the colors in this movie!) that pay respect to the past but all fit seamlessly to its modern setting. Throughout the film I could spot
callbacks to Singing In The Rain, West Side Story
and Mary Poppins, with
the choreography specifically reminiscent of Fred Astaire and Busbey
Berkley. That intricacy in the choreography is matched by the
masterful camera work. Most of the musical numbers are done in single
tracking shots, swerving through gridlocked traffic, bending through
parties, spinning around a planetarium, or slowing down to zero in on
Emma Stone's face.
The music is amazing,
but for whatever reason, none of the songs really stuck with me. This
is more my fault than the music's. I got the importance of each
number as I was watching the movie, but I never left the theater
humming any of its melodies and had to listen to the soundtrack a few
times on Spotify while writing this review for it to truly register.
But there's no doubt in my mind that this will sweep all the musical
categories at the Oscars. It also doesn't help that Ryan Gosling and
Emma Stone aren't exactly the best singers. They obviously have great
chemistry as actors since this this the third movie where they played
a romantic pair, I just wish that translated into their singing. (For
what it's worth, Ryan Gosling is a very talented pianist.)
Chazelle's passion for
musicals is clear and present, but the thing I disagree with most
critics on is their claims that this movie is a love letter to Los
Angeles. Sure, it does a great job of affectionately showing off the
glitz and glamour of the city (and you can't really pay tribute to
the city of angels without a visit to the Griffith Observatory), but
the script focuses on the indifferent, pretentious side of it. Mia's
faith is eroded as she bares herself time and time again to casting
directors who aren't giving her their full attention, Sebastian is
frustrated that no one appreciates jazz the way he does and that he
has to make ends meet by playing Christmas standards and 80's tunes,
hell, the first big song and dance number takes place in the middle
of one of the city's infamous traffic jams. I mentioned before that
Stone and Gosling's singing left a lot to be desired, but the more I
thought about it, the more I realized that their imperfect voices
click with the films themes of dreams vs. reality. The film isn't
necessarily about talented people, it's about talented people. It's
not a glamorization of Hollywood, it's a plea to anyone who's
passionate about something to go out and pursue it, even if they
don't succeed. This is all culminated in the finale, which is a
high-flying, showboating montage of what could've been capped off by
the simplest but most powerful of exchanges. Even if you're not keen
on the rest of the film, the ending is worth the price of admission
alone and will have you over the moon by the time you exit the
theater.
Overall, La La Land is
an extravagant showstopper of a film that I think will be celebrated
for years to come. It's one of my favorite movies of the year, one of
the best musicals I've seen in a long time, and I wouldn't be
surprised if it ended up sweeping the Oscars. Damien Chazelle has
definitely found a niche for himself and I can't wait to see what
else he comes up with.
10/10
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