La La Land

photo courtesy of vvng.com

     From writer and director Damien Chazelle comes La La Land, an original musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Chazelle co-wrote one of 2016’s previous releases, the mysterious and deeply interesting 10 Cloverfield Lane. With an excellent script, a talented cast, and a spellbinding palate of color, La La Land is a delightful visit to another world.

     In La La Land, Mia (Emma Stone) is a struggling actress working as a barista on a studio lot in Hollywood. She stumbles across Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), whose passion for jazz inspires dreams of opening his own club. Against the bright backdrop of Los Angeles, the two fall in love. Together, they must learn how to balance their dazzling daydreams with the realities of real-life commitment.

photo courtesy of variety.com

     La La Land is truly a trip to a world beyond our own: it’s idealistic, beautiful, romantic, and dazzling. The whole thing plays like a great homage to the bygone era of the musical, when men and women chased their dreams without fear of judgement. In fact, the movie itself, though it’s set in modern day, almost feels like a 50’s era film, with Los Angeles, classic cars, and jazz clubs occupying the characters most of the time.

     The movie is a whirlwind, a lively blur of popping colors and swirling dresses. It is irresistibly and contagiously optimistic. This is partly due to the visual aesthetic of the film, which is chock full of purples, yellows, and starry moonlit nights by black waterfronts. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable departure from the mundane and grave tones that so often dominate movies today. Also contributing is the fantastical music, which pops, sways, and winks with a carefree, exhilarating ease.

photo courtesy of nytimes.com

     The main stars of the film, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, have enough charisma to pull the whole thing off. They provide wit, charm, and a dash of silliness to the proceedings. Gosling demonstrates his talent (and propensity for solid comedic delivery), but Emma Stone is the real standout. Her performance is delightful and hilarious; in her hands, Mia is enticing, insecure, and amiable. Stone demonstrates some of her best work in Mia’s many failed auditions, where she shows just how good (and how bad) she can be. She also proves that she can bear the full scrutiny of the screen, delivering a heartfelt close-up solo and frequently serving as the sole focus of the frame.

     The script, which contains a fairly familiar basic set-up, is strong. For one thing, it’s hilarious. For another, it offers a mature plot alongside its visual thrills. It’s a love story, of course, so it naturally follows many of the tropes we’ve come to expect. Fortunately, it comes off as anything but rote, mixing in exquisite set pieces and a satisfying and fitting conclusion. Where it errs too close to the rom-com formula, it earns our forgiveness with a wink, reminding us that, after all, it is a musical.

photo courtesy of joblo.com

     Perhaps the thing which allows La La Land to get off the ground is its willingness to embrace its own genre. It’s certainly bold—confident from the first shot—and it’s entirely unashamed of its own fanciful flare. It’s not for everyone, but I think many will be won over by the unabashed good time that everyone on screen seems to be having.

     The movie’s theme centers around dreaming, and whether or not it’s foolish to hold on to dreams and passion in light of the limitations of real life. We watch as Mia chases her unlikely acting career, and we feel Seb’s simmering passion for jazz music. We see their budding, enchanting romance. Then we look on as they slowly get wrapped up in ambition, obligations, and the weight of their commitment to each other. The movie seems to ask, “is it worth it?” In a way, the film is an invitation to dream, to believe in love, and not to grow up. And yet, the movie is pragmatic. Its idealism is not unchecked, and its fanciful visions are grounded in reality.

photo courtesy of slrlounge.com

     The film does not just relate this theme, but embodies and effuses it. The very idea of La La Land, a bubbly musical in a landscape of titanic Hollywood action blockbusters, is a foolish dream. At the same time as it recognizes that reality, it dares to stand out from the crowd, to be a real musical with all that that entails.

     La La Land is not perfect. Singing-wise, Stone and Gosling actually do quite well, but the film is clearly limited by their musical capabilities. It strays away from songs that require any real belting. It’s unusual, in a musical, to have stars who don’t seem to be able to really knock it out of the park, but somehow it’s also charming, because the songs stay closer and more intimate as a result.

photo courtesy of playbill.com

     The choreography, which is sometimes magnificent, is at other times so simplistic as to be, well, underwhelming. These flaws are, in a way, fitting; they almost match the modern, less grandiose vision of a musical. In any case, though La La Land is a stirring tribute to musicals, it is certainly not the greatest of them.

     Even so, it’s a remarkable accomplishment. I have seen a number of excellent films this year (several of which sport a high budget, major stars, or impressive CGI), but La La Land is easily the most transporting and genuinely entertaining. Sure, it keeps one foot on the ground, but that only enriches its colorful reverie. It’s pure and unadulterated escapism, well worth a trip to see on the big screen.

photo courtesy of variety.com