Unless you live underneath a rock (which is fine if you do, no judgement here), you have probably heard all of the hype about the recent musical La La Land. The film, under the direction of Damien Chazelle, has picked up fourteen Oscar nominations, tying the record with Titanic for most nominations ever. The 89th Annual Academy Awards will air on February 26, and I will be severely shocked if this film fails to sweep the award show entirely.
Before I go into (probably too much) detail about how amazing this movie is, I want to point out the perfection of the film's cinematography. The opening scene is filmed on an overpass, which is just really interesting, with drivers stepping out of their vehicles to join other commuters in song. To someone who doesn't enjoy spontaneous dance numbers, this sounds like a nightmare, but I was absolutely in awe. Chazelle somehow managed to combine the hectic, modern LA lifestyle with an old-fashioned feel and I'm definitely not complaining. I also want to acknowledge the originality of the score. Every single song in this film flowed so nicely and added endless emotion to the movie as a whole.
Now for the film content itself. Without spoiling too much for those who have yet to bless their souls with this masterpiece, the movie follows Mia and Sebastian while they attempt to follow their dreams and find love at the same time. Mia, an aspiring actress, auditions for countless roles and can never seem to get it just right. Sebastian is a jazz-musician who wants to open his own club and revive the genre before it dies out entirely. They cross paths and fall madly in love, ultimately having to choose between their dreams and their relationship in the end.
It's probably obvious that the two don't end up together, and although the ending of this film has received mixed opinions, I could not have appreciated it more. We've grown up watching movies that teach us that we all need a fairytale ending to be happy. We see the prince and the princess fall head over heels for each other and live happily ever after. This movie gave us realism. It showed us that sometimes, you should be allowed to be more important than anyone else. You should never compromise your aspirations and goals in order to achieve success in love. When all is said and done, life will fall into place and you will be happy. You just have to be willing to let life works its way out.
Mia and Sebastian were both artists, and both dreamers. They were each a piece of each other's masterpieces. Although Mia and Sebastian don't end up together, they both played a crucial role in each other's lives. They taught each other how to love things that they never thought they would. They showed each other that the things that make us different from everyone else are the things that make us beautiful. Most of all, they showed each other that it's okay to choose something you love over someone you love.
With everything going on in the world right now, it's nice to have a film to lift us up and remind us that life isn't ever going to unfold exactly the way that we want it to. We have to face rejection in order to actually make something of ourselves. We have to fall in order to pick ourselves back up. When we fall in love, we send our minds into this "la la land" fantasy of what we expect love to be, when in all actuality we have no control over who or what we fall in love with.
To the ones who are foolish enough to dream: please go see this film. You won't regret it.
