La La Land
/"This is the dream! It's conflict and it's compromise, and it's very, very exciting!"
Filmology Rating: 3.63 out of 4
Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a dedicated jazz musician, struggle to get by in life while pursuing their dreams in LA.
La La Land is a modern day musical that pays respect to the classic feeling yet brings new life into a dying art form. I will admit that I am not the biggest fan of musicals. They are really hit or miss for me (Sound of Music, Moulin Rouge, West Side Story are some that I do actually really enjoy but there are a lot that I dislike). However, after seeing that La La Land was written and directed by Damien Chazelle (who also wrote and directed Whiplash my third favorite movie of all time) and was staring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, I was intrigued. Then when the trailer came out, I was mesmerized. I have to say that La La Land was an absolute masterpiece. This is why movies are made.
Where to begin with this work of art….. I’ll start with something that a lot of people might have trouble with and that is this being a musical. Yes I know that musicals are not for everyone and I can completely understand why. This however is not a typical musical.
The opening scenes pays homage to the classic feel and look of a musical along with one other over the top class musical scene. However, the rest of the film is essentially a normal drama love story with a few songs here and there that fit so perfectly with the film. Minus the two scenes mentioned, the only times there are songs or dances are when it has to do with its two main characters Mia and Sebastian. I do have to say, that this soundtrack and score was one of the best that I have ever heard. I have had this soundtrack stuck in my head on repeat (specifically the song City of Stars which is the central song throughout. There were multiple versions of it and each were outstanding and fit perfectly with the mood and feeling of each scene). After seeing the movie, I immediately went out and bought the soundtrack and I'm sure a lot of you will too.
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have excellent chemistry. This was proven years ago when they both stared in the move Crazy, Stupid, Love (also paired in the movie Gangster Squad. While not a very good movie, they were good together). This movie was no different. Their love felt natural, their chemistry was undeniable, and they put the biggest smile on my face. It is going to be impossible for anyone to walk out of the theater without a feeling of hope and joy because of these two. Mia is an aspiring actress that is trying so hard to make it and yet can’t seem to find her big break. Sebastian is a talented jazz artist that refuses to let jazz die while he stands ideally by. He is so passionate about his music and the art of jazz that that is was just electric to see. I got lost in these characters and I was rooting for them to finally get their chance to make it big. I will want to watch this movie again and again for these characters alone. This was truly some of Ryan and Emma’s best work. Btw, Ryan and Emma are both great singers and dancers.
Now this movie is about artistic as it gets. Its color scheme and cinematography was outstanding. The movie nerd that I am, I couldn’t get enough. Each scene had purpose, had a new flair to it, and every long panning camera angle had such an incredible artistic style to it. This type of style only gets you more involved and more connected to its characters and its plot. This movie is so well written and directed, that it takes its viewers on an emotional journey. No this is not an overreaction, I am serious. Rarely do movies move you so much that you feel each high and low and everything between. When you have a movie like this, you know it is a keeper.
I honestly can’t say enough about this film. I could ramble on and on but I wouldn’t want to bore all of you. All I can say is wow. Just give all the awards right now to La La Land. (Joking…. Kind of.) La La Land is a must see and for those hesitant about it being a musical, please give this movie a chance.
Here's to the ones who dream.....
Rating: See It
-Nick
I’ve always been a big fan of musicals, from Singin in the Rain to West Side Story to even more recent efforts like The Last Five Years and Into the Woods. I try to see at least one show a year on stage and would easily see one a week if I could afford it, so the movie musical has always been a more affordable way to appease my love for the stage. Adding two of the most charming actors working now, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, and one of the youngest and most promising directors, Damien Chazelle, you are basically setting up a plan to win my heart before the first frame even hits the silver screen.
Mia, played by the always wonderful Emma Stone, left everything in her life to move to Los Angeles with the dream of becoming an actress. Sebastian, played by the charming Ryan Gosling, has a dream of bringing traditional jazz back to the city that seems to run from anything traditional to the new hot thing. The two are on different paths but seem to keep crossing paths as if destiny was pushing the two together.
I’m just going to be as forward as humanly possible with this: I adore this film. This is why cinema was created, this is why we all have dreams, this is why we all live. You might think I’m the most hyperbolic person alive but I guarantee that if you don’t have a smile on your face for the majority of this film’s runtime, you most likely don’t have a soul. Cinema was created to take us to worlds that seemed extraordinary and would, more often than not, be impossible to journey to. La La Land takes us to a romanticized Los Angeles where people burst into song when they are stuck in the horrid LA traffic and you can dance among the stars at the planetarium. This clearly is a world that does not exist but I would believe that it is one that most would like to live in. We all have dreams in our lives, mine is to own my own small movie theatre that focuses on the films that brought us the Hollywood that we know now and would show the latest features. La La Land challenges you to follow your dreams no matter how foolish, small, costly, or terrifying they might be. The concept of love is always a tricky subject to capture on film, the characters might be in love with an abstract idea or with a person but if the actor doesn’t portray the emotion properly it could come off as comical or underplayed. La La Land shows that you can both be in love with an idea, like dreaming, and with a person. La La Land shows that love is incredibly special and should be cherished and given fire to let it burn but if you get too close you might get burnt.
I have heard from some critics that La La Land is a hollow film that offers nothing to make you think and I must believe that those critics missed most of the small details in this film and they must have walked out during the last ten minutes. The epilogue of this film is one of the most moving pieces of cinema I have ever seen and I haven’t been able to shake it. If you have any doubts about the future of cinema, you must watch this film and every doubt you have will be erased within a heartbeat. The themes of this film are important and I wish that more people would be talking about them instead of dismissing this film as a splashy musical that offers nothing to chew on.
La La Land is a special film that clearly doesn’t get made as often as most cinephiles believe it should. Some of the people who brought this special gem to life are Linus Sandgren, Tom Cross, Mary Zorphres, Justin Hurwitz, and Mandy Moore. Linus Sandgren was the director of photography, Sandgren also did the cinematography for The Hundred-Foot Journey and American Hustle, he captures everything in this film perfectly and uses light as its own character in the film to help affect the mood that the characters are feeling. The opening scene of the film, which was crafted as if it was one long take, was simply incredible and jaw dropping. Tom Cross was the editor of the film and also edited Whiplash, and he deserves a majority of the credit for the flow of this film. Musical films are tough to edit because you have many takes when you aren’t working with professional dancers and singers for majority of the film. In one take, a leg could be pointed to the left and another to the right and if those clips don’t flow together your mind would instantly be taken out of the film. Mary Zorphres was the costume designer who brought such bright and vibrant costumes to Mia and her LA friends; Zorphres was also the costume designer for Hail Caesar! and No Country for Old Men. Even Sebastian has modern hipster outfit that is at complete clash with his normal wear, yet it doesn’t look unrealistic. The perfect jazz score came from Justin Hurwitz, who also did the score and wrote the songs for Whiplash and Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. Hurwitz proves that he works perfectly with his college friend Chazelle, and I hope that they continue the partnership that has worked out fantastically well for the two of them. Mandy Moore was the choreographer for the film and she shines, especially with the numbers “Another Day of Sun” and “A Lovely Night.” Moore clearly has a grand grasp on musical films, pulling inspiration from Singin in the Rain, An American in Paris, and every Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film. Just watch how perfect the movement of every dancer is during the opening number and you will just feel a feeling of “what have I accomplished with my life?”
I haven’t even had the chance to talk about the two stars of this film yet, but they shine brightly. Emma Stone will get an Oscar nomination for this film and most likely the win for her performance as Mia. Her big musical number, “Audtion,” has so much emotion and confidence in the performance that it will leave you in tears just listening to the soundtrack, but then you add the visual of Stone becoming emotionally bare on the screen and you have a scene that is simply moving. As for Ryan Gosling, he uses his piano talents throughout the film, as well as his long history of singing and dancing. The film has many long takes that couldn’t use a hand-double and Gosling is convincing at playing the unpredictable jazz. Gosling isn’t given the big scene-stealing moment like Stone was, but he still proves that he will try to do anything to make the movie more memorable.
I’m la la for La La Land. It’s clearly my favorite film of the year and I hope that we can only can more films that pour passion and emotion into them so much and are crafted by visual genius more often.
Rating: See It
-Jonny G