I understand the hype with La La Land now. After receiving multiple Golden Globes and predictions for several Oscar nominations, I was intrigued by its sudden appearance in the movie world. I wanted to see this movie, and after my friend agreed to go with me, I was excited to see what the all the rave was about. Going into this movie, I knew basically nothing: I was aware it was a musical, but that was all.
And I was pleasantly surprised.
La La Land is the story of Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a pianist and avid jazz lover. After several rocky meetings, they begin to fall in love as they both work to pursue their dreams. With multiple musical and dance numbers along the way, they find themselves struggling to grasp at dreams that seem impossible to reach.
This movie was beautiful.
The cinematography was astounding, with camera angles and shadows highlighting the intensity of a scene or the focus on a character. The colors were bright and magical, every color of the rainbow shining throughout each scene. Every scene had me entranced and gaping in awe of its beauty.
There’s something special about the way this movie was filmed. It is set in present day, but with the costumes and props, it seems as if the movie was set in old Hollywood. A stark contrast between present and old Hollywood appear in the use of smartphones while also adding in record players and high-waisted, polka-dot swimsuits. The movie seems to captures a mix of eras - and it works. It adds a whimsical, cynical touch to the movie and contributes to the overall cinematography.
While Stone and Gosling may not have typical Broadway voices, the intensity they brought to the quiet melodies and the cheeriness they brought to the uplifting tunes was inspiring, and I was shocked by how easily I fell in love with their songs. Also, we need to talk about Ryan Gosling’s serious piano-playing skills. According to director Damien Chazelle, Gosling actually played in all of his scenes and never had a piano double. Gosling is a master on the piano, and everything he plays is astounding.
Besides the singing and dancing, the characters in this movie are honestly inspiring.
Mia is hardworking and doesn’t give up on landing her dream acting job, even if she does lose herself at one point in the film. Although Gosling’s character Sebastian is a bit of a jerk at the start of the movie, his character softens after meeting Mia. Still, his love of jazz music and passion for playing is beautiful to watch. I even liked Mia’s friends, who only appear in several minutes of the film. They are supportive of Mia and her ambitious plans, and they even appear in the audience of one of her plays.
Now, while I could gush about La La Land for hours, I can’t have a review without a few not-so-great remarks. I know the ending was meant to be artistic and unexpected, I don’t exactly know how I feel about it. I liked the unexpectedness of it, how it goes against what you would typically expect of a romance movie, but I couldn’t help but push for that typical ending. After the movie was over, my friend and I looked at each other in confusion and annoyance of the unsatisfactory ending, but no matter the ending, I understand why the director chose it to end as it did.
This movie was a genuinely beautiful piece of art. It defies what a movie is supposed to look and feel like, and it’s just so different. It’s strange, catchy, and at points a bit sad, but it’s beautiful and I highly recommend it.
