La La Land
Director: Damien Chazelle
By Alex Watson
Winner of the Viewers Choice at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival, La La Land is a delightful and spellbinding musical romance. Boosted by Oscar-worthy turns by charming stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, Damien Chazzelle's follow up to Whiplash is one that is immensely cute and sweet. At the centre is a heart-grabbing story of love and following your dreams and the things that sometimes get in the way. Currently, this picture is a deserved front runner for awards glory.
Set over four seasons, both Mia (Emma Stone) and Seb (Ryan Gosling) are a pair who are both chasing their dreams. Drawn together by their passion and commitment to achieving glory, the pair starts a relationship that seems written in the stars. As time goes by, they find little things beginning to form a wedge between them. To fully realize their goals, they have to consider what role each of them plays in this relationship?
Start with a glorious and peppy musical sequence about dreams set on the LA highway, La La Land's charm factor is made apparent early on. It will take a while for audiences to really get to grips with the feel of the picture because it feels like an homage to musicals, things are very different from what they seem. Meeting Mia and Seb has the cute factor dialed up to 11, she sits distracted reading a script in a traffic jam while he honks at her from behind. Speeding past her, she flips him the bird and sees him as a merely another jerk she has to deal with. Fate seems to bring them together throughout as Seb's beautiful piano playing draws Mia into a random bar, she then finds him struggling to make ends meet by playing keyboard in an 80's cover band, where he takes offense her requesting A Flock of Seagulls song, 'I Ran' as he is a 'serious musician'
Their difference in life are excellently defined by Chazzelle, Mia is a girl seeking big screen glory and having to go through a humiliating series of auditions. Each one seems to be more disheartening as casting assistants interrupt her in the middle of lines and some merely dismiss her as soon as she walks in. Seb is faring little better and is a man who by his own admission is playing rope-a-dope with his future. Fired from his job at a restaurant due to the manager (J.K Simmons) being angered at him playing freestyle jazz rather bland Christmas jingles on his piano. Out of the two Seb is the harder to warm to due to his perfectionist tendencies and his steadfast love to the purity of jazz. He's a disillusioned and at times unpleasant soul trying to understand the reason he was put on this earth. The middle section from Spring to Summer is where hearts will soar the most as the pair embarks on a whirlwind romance. One dance number set in Los Angeles's iconic Griffith Observatory is so hypnotic it will having you dancing you home.
Finally their dreams are set to take flight as Seb begins to realize his dreams of owning a jazz seem possible and Mia opens her one-woman play. As much as it pains us, obvious gaps in this relationship begin to form as Seb takes a paying gig in a successful band run by his old friend Keith (John Legend). Their frustrations come to fruition during a well-staged scene where Seb surprises her with a surprise pot roast dinner, only for it to descend into an angry and bitter argument where all their fears, doubts, and regrets are laid bare. Committing to their dreams is the very thing that could potentially rip them apart. Chazelle never once assures us things will end happily and as Seb seems content in selling himself out, Mia's one woman show is very a Hail Mary pass that could either sink or swim her. Touching and emotional throughout, this pair is one that ultimately wants to do good, but the realization of what dreams involve is heartbreaking.
Gosling and Stone's magnetic chemistry is what really makes this picture tick and their third outing together is their strongest yet. Stone, in particular, is wonderful and her big expressive eyes speak volumes about the characters emotions. Possessing a wonderful singing voice, Stone is not the first name that comes to mind when you think of musical pictures, but nonetheless, she carries off Mia well and is very much the sweet center of this picture. Gosling is also a revelation as Seb and his sarcastic wit shines brightly throughout. What perhaps the strongest element of his game is how Gosling handles Seb's inability to fully express his emotions and when faced with having confront his real emotions he simply gives off an insulting remark. Together the pair light up the screen and are perhaps the best double act we will have the pleasure of viewing this award season.
La La Land is a picture that is in all honestly a really beautiful thing. Some may find this type of work too cutesy and annoying while for some it will make their spirits fly like an eagle. One thing is for sure, Damien Chazelle has made something special.
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