This is truly straight, white, romantical culture enveloped in one film, huh? I am not sure why it took me more than two years to finally see this incredible movie, but now here I am, hopping on the bandwagon. La La Land is a superbly-directed and aesthetically-gorgeous musical that really hits all the right notes. Yes, I did use that pun and yes, I believe this movie deserved every Academy Award that it won. With standout performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and unforgettable directing from the young genius Damien Chazelle, this movie is bound to become an instant classic.
Every little aspect of this movie pulled me into the Los Angeles setting and didn't let go until its magic had pulsed through my every vein. I am blown away at the aesthetic behind this film and its story that was so passionately told. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone star as Sebastian and Mia, two struggling artists who are looking to achieve their dreams of becoming stars. While they form a magical relationship through music, they attempt to stay true to their personal goals while chasing after each other's love. I have constantly joked about Gosling for years, but I know now of his true, unbridled talent of acting, both subtly and extravagantly. I have been a fan of Stone's as well, and she shines so brightly (like a city of stars) in this film. I especially loved the pure chemistry shared between the two and their main plotline. After all of their charming ups and dramatic downs and even when Mia was revealed to be married to another man in a shocking twist at the end, I could still feel their beautiful energy together. That one simple shot at the end of Sebastian and Mia looking at each other and appreciating what they had built, even if it was without each other, was absolutely astounding. Both were amazing, as well as some smaller roles from J.K. Simmons and John Legend.
I must be honest in saying that I have never been a fan of musicals before, as I believe there is too much of a focus on music rather than interesting storytelling, but this film nails both. The jazz-fueled and vintage-like soundtrack aided so much in telling this story and did not distract me from the plot as much as I thought it would. My main reason for finally seeing this film, though, was to see how the directing from Chazelle had evolved since his big-screen debut of Whiplash. Even though these two films are wildly different, Chazelle completely engulfs his audience in classic-styled, show tune-like musicality and beauty. He truly knows how to build an engaging and foot-tapping world, whether it be derived from catchy dance sequences or intense, anxiety-ridden scenes. The lighting in this film, especially during many of the fantasy song scenes, was absolutely beautiful and highlighted this movie's primary color palette as well. This film is a spectacular combination of wonder and magic, drawing me in through every second, thanks to Chazelle.
The cinematography by Linus Sandgren was my personal favorite technical aspect of this film. It was very personal and even though this more subtle style is not seen much in musicals, worked very smoothly with the characters. I also noticed and very much appreciated Chazelle's signature style of whipping back and forth between two characters' actions, akin to the closing scene of his previous work. He really knows how to make an amazing film centered around the genre of jazz, but my one issue with this theme of his work is that some of the character motivations and lines seem a bit recycled. I noticed this as Sebastian was talking about Charlie Parker and other influential musicians. In Whiplash, Miles Teller's character Andrew discusses the same things and seems to share many of the same personality traits and dedication as Sebastian. This might just be me being the nitpicky critic that I have evolved into, but I believe that Sebastian could have been given a bit more originality.
La La Land is truly everything that I was hoping it shaped up to be. Gosling has definitely cemented himself as one of my new favorite actors. Now that I have seen and analyzed the themes shared between Chazelle's three biggest films of his young career, I can confidently say that First Man needed more jazz. Much more jazz.
My Rating: ★★★★★
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