Since it's release, "La La Land" has been taking the movie world by storm. From the Golden Globes to the Oscars, it's been one of the big talked-about movies of 2017. But why? So it has Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling and some cool music, why is it such a big deal?
La La Land talks about something that is rarely talked about in movies. La La Land talks about how hard it is to make it in the crazy arts world, and how important it is to never stop giving up in that world. On top of having some pretty stunning visuals.
La La Land tells the story of Mia(Emma Stone), an aspiring actress who works at a coffee shop in between auditions, who meets Sebastian(Ryan Gosling) a jazz musician who only wants to bring it back. It tells their struggles with keeping their dreams and trying to make it in the crazy world of modern-day L.A.
Throughout the movie I was stunned by the beautiful visuals and amazing music, not to mention the spot-on humor here and there(Emma Stone is a comedy genius). But the moment when I knew La La Land would win it's place in my heart as one of my favorite movies ever was in one scene at the end. (Minor spoilers ahead).
After Mia decides to give up on her dream and move back home, Sebastian learns that an agent is interested in Mia. He drives to her home to convince her to come back to L.A. and audition for the role. The scene they have outside her house moved me forever. Sebastian is trying to convince Mia that she should do it, because it's worth it, but Mia keeps asking him, "But what if I'm not good enough?" And Sebastian convinces her that she is.
She does, eventually, get in the car with him and audition for the role, not knowing if she would get it or not, but nonetheless going back to her dream.
That scene touched a part of me, because as a filmmaker, I've had that conversation more than once. Any artist has had those moments where you question if you're good enough to "make" it. And La La Land nailed that feeling perfectly, and moreover, took that feeling and told all of the artists watching that you can feel that way, but always get up and keep going. Even if you don't know if you'll be successful, keep going.
And for that message alone, La La Land deserves all the awards in the world.
