Date: 2017
Director: Damien Chazelle
Actors/ Characters: Ryan Gosling/ Sebastian, Emma Stone/ Mia
Summary: A jazz pianist falls for an aspiring actress in Los Angeles.
Review
So the film everyone's talking about! Hollywood is a buzz with Damien Chazelle's La La Land, and honestly for good reason. This film is everything moviegoers, Hollywood and, of course, the academy love. From the trailer alone you get a sense of the stunning visuals in the film and the homage to Hollywood's golden era. This film made me laugh, cry and contemplate why films like this aren't made anymore.
I have such respect for Damien Chazelle, he took an old cinema form and renovated it for today's audience. Personally, I have always loved extensive dance sequences and the romantic aesthetic of classic Hollywood movies but that style of film was a dying one until La La Land. The first thing that impressed me about this movie was the visuals and the production design. All the locations, costumes and props were beautifully constructed. The film burst with colour and romance. From the shots of the Los Angeles skyline to the gorgeously designed film sets each shot in this film was created almost like a painting. I loved the brightness of the costumes in this film particularly the dresses that Mia and her friends wore for the first party, they were so indulgently vibrant and not something you often see in successful Hollywood films nowadays.
The camera work and cinematography was breathtaking, unique and refreshing. The smooth, prolonged tracking shots during the dance sequences were gorgeous and the camera was almost another dancer in itself during these scenes. I loved the shots during 'somewhere in the crowd' when the camera tracked horizontally through the house to reveal the different rooms as I felt it added to the classic Hollywood style of the studio era.
The reason as to why this film has struck a chord with filmgoers is because of the nostalgic appeal it has with classic Hollywood. I noticed so many nods to old movies and musical films throughout this film, Sebastian swinging on the lamppost ( Singing in the Rain ), when Mia sees Sebastian in the club for the first time her surroundings are put out of focus ( West Side Story ), the wonderful inter titles right at the start that mimic many old films, to name a few. Part of why this film is so reminiscent of old Hollywood is because of its nature as a musical. As modern audiences we are not as familiar with the style of a classic musical, but Chazelle includes beautiful, lengthly dance sequences and surging orchestral music throughout the film to heighten the film's themes and the emotion in the narrative. I adored the tap dancing sequence during 'a lovely night' it was so classically Astaire/Ginger and it was wonderful to watch on the big screen. Another dance sequence that was simply stunning was the ' what if' sequence right at the climax of the movie. It was so lovely yet heart breaking to watch Mia and Sebastian's life had they ended up together, I thought it was a really sweet choice by Chazelle to include that in the film.
Of course, Justin Hurwitz's score is beautiful and he completely deserves an academy award for his work on this film. I loved the exciting, upbeat rhythms of 'another day of sun' and 'somewhere in the crowd' compared with the romantic, slightly melancholy melodies of 'fools who dream' and 'city of stars'. I must admit some of the songs brought tears to my eyes. Although Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling were far from the best singers ever I was impressed with the emotion behind their performances not so much their ability to hold a tune. Stone's performance in 'fools who dream' was astounding and I felt ever word she sang during it.
The story of Mia and Sebastian was so lovely to watch, it was a timeless love story about an ill- fated relationship doomed by the pair's desires to fulfill their life long dreams. Although it broke my soul into a million pieces the fact that Mia and Sebastian didn't end up together was actually quite a bittersweet ending. I really liked the harsh reality presented as Mia and Sebastian gave up each other in order to live their dreams. The question is was sacrificing their love worth it in the end? I don't know where I stand on that but I did appreciate the notion of sacrifice in order to achieve success, as after all that is how the world works.
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