La La Land Review By Aaron Rourke (Melbourne, Australia)
Exuberant in tone and stylish in presentation, La La Land is smile-inducing entertainment that has one reminiscing about the golden years of Hollywood. Unfortunately, it also highlights a worrying trend in modern cinema, where retro imitation is substituting genuinely innovative and risky film-making.
Set in a dreamlike version of L.A., we are immediately given our first elaborate set-piece, a strikingly staged and shot musical number that takes place amongst highway gridlock. It is also here where we are introduced to our main characters; aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone), and jazz fanatic and piano maestro Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). Both are finding it difficult to achieve their dreams, but are adamant that success will happen.
Serendipity plays a major part in their lives, as the two continually seem to bump into one another. During a particular L.A. party (with humorous 80’s references, and a wish that P.T. Anderson had helmed the sequence), Mia and Sebastian finally make a connection (leading to a Gene Kelly-like dance between the two), and romance begins to fill the air.
As opportunities start knocking on their door, Mia and Sebastian’s relationship will take a number of turns, showing that the path to fame and fortune is never an easy one.
It has to be said first off that La La Land is an enjoyable movie event. It is expertly crafted by a talented crew, performed with gusto by a committed cast, and handled with extreme confidence by a gifted film-maker. However, as the film goes on, a certain hunger for something more starts to creep into proceedings. This colourful, energetic pastiche masks a lack of something groundbreaking, a cinematic creation that will galvanise movie fans fifty years from now in the same way past classics have obviously sparked writer/director David Chazelle in 2016.
Previous celluloid inspiration has influenced plenty of great auteurs over the years, including Michael Powell, Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, and Quentin Tarantino. But where these particular film-makers combine a love of cinema with an individual stamp that is all their own, a growing amount of directors are mistaking overt mimicry as personal imagination. Perfect examples are the number of thrillers and horror movies that are aping styles of a bygone era, rather than using it as a foundation to create something fresh and invigorating.
Three films come to mind while watching La La Land; Brian De Palma’s wild, sharply observed opera Phantom Of The Paradise (1974), Peter Bogdonavich’s unfairly maligned At Long Last Love (1975), and Walter Hill’s high octane rock ‘n roll fable Streets Of Fire (1984). All bear each director’s fondness for prior productions and imagery, but they then weave a singular vision that is connected to their own body of work.
Chazelle, who dazzled audiences with his vividly realised, partially autobiographical Whiplash, again uses music as a driving force, but the distinct hand that moulded that film is somewhat missing here. His joy for cinema is apparent, with numerous posters, references and homages dotted throughout the movie. One just wishes that his own voice could be heard above all these wistful tunes.
The rather old-fashioned view of women in Hollywood is a little jarring and somewhat dated. With darker, more provocative features out there such as Starry Eyes, The Neon Demon, and Always Shine, this rather rose-coloured view should be treated as part of the fantasy world on show. But then again, if there were a more realistic presentation, we may have got something confrontingly dour like Martin Scorsese’s unforgettable New York, New York (1977).
Both Stone (who is certainly fashioned to resemble a young Natalie Wood) and Gosling are incredibly likeable, forming a chemistry that is absent from too many films today. Their conviction to the material is notable, and perform various singing and dancing duties with professional aplomb. J.K. Simmons, who garnered an Oscar for his memorable turn in Chazelle’s Whiplash, makes an amusing appearance as a grumpy club owner.
Special mention must go to cinematographer Linus Sandgren (American Hustle, Joy), composer and lyricist Justin Hurwitz (Whiplash, Guy And Madeline On A Park Bench), editor Tom Cross (Whiplash, Joy), production designer David Wasco (a Tarantino regular), costume designer Mary Zophres (a Coen Brothers’ regular), and art director Austin Gorg (The Neon Demon), all of whom deliver exemplary work.
One admires Chazelle for wanting to keep the spirit of old-Hollywood alive, but like so many current film-makers, it is at the expense of making an inventive, unconventional movie that can stand on its own. Yes, don’t forget the classic artistry that enabled Tinseltown to entrance and enthral millions of people around the world for decades, but keep the cinematic fire burning by making great, new films that will inspire future generations. This constant craving for product with a vintage sheen is surely an indicator that there is a shortage of truly wondrous cinema being released in Hollywood today. Call it Catch 22 – The Musical.
Rating: 3/5
rajat bhatia says
No offence. I kind of slept in between. The mix of music and dialogues somewhere made the movie lose its momentum. The best part starts from the point of Mia’s last audition. The dream sequence was good. On the whole, apart from catchy score and (audition/someone in the crowd/city of stars) few songs, it was an average musical. I kind of think its overhyped. We already have witnessed excellent musicals like Chicago. This piece doesnot reach upto that level.
Bill Donaldson (Canada) says
I am 72 and musicals are my favorite movies. My wife and I went to see La La Land expecting something great. Sadly we got to see one of the worst musicals of all time. Anyone who has seen the real musical of the past would wonder how anyone could consider this a musical. Also the two stars had absolutely no chemistry. The opening scene was good but made no sense when seeing the rest of the show.
How it won any Oscars is a huge guess, especially considering the other movies this year.
Grace (England) says
Ah, La la land. When I watched the trailer of this movie I did not know whether I’d enjoy it very much. It seemed a bit cliché and like a fantasised version of reality that we all long for but have even on the big screen lots of times, different actors same story. But I was very pleasantly surprised.
La la land captures the beauty of life, uncut all rough edges but absolutely beautiful anyway. It is a piece of drama, a beautiful combination of a script that inspires you and is packed with morals and lessons to educate you and make a point. There are fantastic actors that make an idea into life and make you forget real life in favour of diving into the world they have for you on the big screen. There are the sets that you become familiar with and starts to feel like your home and there is the music and dance that captures emotions in a way words alone never could.
In a good story you need to be completely stolen by the plot. It needs its ups and downs to make you love the characters even more and see how they react in different situations. You need to leave the cinema looking at life in a different way. This movie made a statement. When you watch it you can see reality and humanity laced into every word.
I admire the plot completely from an analytical point of view. You will leave the cinema or your sofa or wherever you are needing to talk about it, the story painted into your brain. This movie is a work of art if there ever was one.
I personally vowed to myself to take up tap dancing after a particularly beautiful scene. La la land will make you see the reality there is in dreams. Was it cliché like I thought? It was completely cliché and outrageously unique at the same time.
Mark Burnham (Murfreesboro, TN) says
La La Land is directed by Damian Chazelle and stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling and is about a barista aspiring to be an actress who meets a dazzling piano player who wants to one day open his own jazz club. Ladies and gentlemen this is one of the best films I have seen all year let me tell you why you need to go out and see this movie right now! Stone and Gosling’s chemistry is off the charts in this movie from their musical numbers to their scenes of regular dialogue its playful and fun and feels so genuine, I loved it.
This film is a love story at heart but also one about following your dreams no matter what obstacle or sacrifice you have to make in order for that to happen and in that sense found this film very relatable as I did Chazelle’s last film Whiplash, which if you have not seen I highly recommend. the musical numbers in this movie are outstanding as well as the music itself, this film takes place in modern L.A. but retains such a classical feel to it at the same time. The movie starts off exceptional with a number that put a fat smile on my face, which I did not lose throughout this entire movie. The dance choreography is also top notch. I highly respect the amount of work that went into making this masterpiece from the musical numbers to dance pieces and Gosling, who actually learned and is actually playing the piano.
They truly do not make movies much like this very often. I don’t think I found any flaws with this as I was captivated from start to finish. This movie dazzles, excites and is touching all at the same time. This has been my favorite movie of the year and you need to go out and experience it for yourself.