Monday, January 2, 2017

La La Land - Film Review


La La Land is about as close to pure delight as you can get when it comes to a moviegoing experience. From its opening song and dance number to its final scene, it will put a smile on your face that will seldom falter, even in the moments that break your heart. It succeeds in nearly every regard, working as both a throwback to the classic musicals of yesteryear and a genuinely touching romance. 

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone play Sebastian Wilder and Mia Dolan, two dreamers trying to make ends meet in the city of Los Angeles. Mia is an aspiring actress working as a barista in a studio lot coffee shop. She hops from audition to audition, working tirelessly to achieve her goals, but with little success. Sebastian is an inspired pianist with an obsessive love for jazz. He takes what work he can, playing in restaurants that insist he stick to their uninspired playlist rather than demonstrating his true talent. He dreams of opening a jazz club where he can play the music he loves unencumbered by anyone else’s demands while also reminding people why jazz is such an integral music genre. When the two finally meet, it sparks a relationship that inspires both to pursue their dreams with renewed vigor.  

Perhaps one of the most impressive things La La Land’s writer/director Damien Chazelle manages to pull off here is a tone that is utterly sincere. There’s no winking at the camera, no cynicism – the film is an earnest and loving homage to an all-too-rare genre in today’s cinematic landscape. His direction is inspired. While many modern attempts may have chosen to utilize flashy editing and fancy cuts to hide their stars’ lack of musical talents, Chazelle’s camera’s gaze rarely falters. He relies on long, unbroken takes to emphasize the talents of his two leads and it is an absolute joy to watch Gosling and Stone engage in what are essentially live performances. The cinematography and production design successfully evokes the big, colorful aesthetic found in so many old musicals.

But a musical is only as good as its soundtrack and, thankfully, Justin Hurtwitz’s, combined with Pasek and Paul's lyrics, is one of the year’s best. The songs are catchy and frequently stunning, infused with big band jazz elements and heartfelt ballads that'll give you chills. Stone and Gosling have strong voices and the charisma to match, and while Mandy Moore’s choreography (no, not that Mandy Moore) is simple and old-fashioned, it’s also efficient and gives the pair plenty of opportunities to stretch their dancing chops.

If there’s anything I could find fault with about the film, it’s that Chazelle’s earnest screenplay is almost too simplistic. While in some ways that works for the mood and tone he’s going for here, there’s a prevalent feeling he doesn’t actually have much to say or add to the genre. His characters are likable enough, but they aren’t particularly complex and don’t go much deeper than their surface-level motivations.

Let me put it another way: yes, La La Land is a successful musical throwback, but has the outpouring of love the film’s received been because of its actual quality or because it reminds people of much better films from the past? If La La Land had been released back in the 50s or 60s, would it be remembered as a classic today, or would it have been lost in the midst of its superiors?

But perhaps it isn’t fair for me to take such a pessimistic approach when viewing La La Land. Because, quite frankly, even if its nostalgia milking accounts for much of its appeal, it’s also a damn good movie with two marvelous performances at its center. And even though I want to be cynical about its overall appeal, whenever it comes to mind, I can’t help but smile. And what’s so bad about a movie that just wants to make people smile?


FINAL RATING: 4/5

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