La La Land Review — Every different choice leads to a different ending.

What makes La La Land a real classic — the homage that director Damien Chazelle pays to Woody Allen by alluding to his movie Everyone Says I Love You in the opening sequence; the jazz scores that make the audience feel like watching a Broadway musical in the cinema; Emma Stone’s natural and close-to-perfect performance; and Ryan Gosling’s depressed looks, and the piano and dancing performance that he has sweated blood over.

But what really digs an emotional hole in the hearts of the audience is its plot.

La La Land in a way is a tragedy, but it is exactly the sad ending which calls upon the audience to cherish the moment and to love as if there was no tomorrow.

Three-quarters of the movie conforms to the common formula of Hollywood romantic comedies — while struggling to pursue their dreams, the hero and the heroine meet each other in the most miserable time, and they soon fall in love; they cherish one another amid all the difficulties in life, and awaken the passion in each other in chasing their dreams.

Aspired to bring Mia a better life, Sebastian gives up his pursuit of pure Jazz music, and joins a pop music band. He even gets a taste of success in it. However, he gets distanced from Mia as he is always on a tour. Mia, on the other hand, is still trying to fulfil her dream, she even starts to question herself and wants to give up.

Mia is about to let everything go, and the two are having rows due to geographical distance and conflicting beliefs, just at this point, Mia gets an opportunity for audition. Being encouraged by Sebastian, she gets the role and is going to Paris for the shooting. Her efforts are finally paying off.

Such a storyline, together with the excellent cinematography, music, and production design, make La La Land a quality musical comedy. However, the key that makes it a classic is its unconventional ending.

Five years passes, Sebastian has left the band, and opened a pure jazz club in his hometown as wished. And Mia, now a successful actress, is married — just that her other half is not Sebastian.

And there is a pause and turn — the director fast-forwards Mia’s life upon the moment she obtains her first role, but this time, the protagonists are making a different choice in life that leads to a happy ending — Sebastian follows Mia to Paris and opens his dream jazz club there, and Mia becomes a successful actress and gets married with him.

In reality, Sebastian bent to life and let go of his dream, and Mia forwent true love for her dream. I believe that the two are still loving each other, just that they have made a selfish choice in face of reality and dream. And because of this choice, they attain success in career, but it is at the cost of their love, thus resulting in lifelong regrets.

Many may feel sad about this ending, however, this may be the one that resonates among the majority. We have to sacrifice or give up something in reality, it’s sad, but it’s unavoidable.

But the happy ending that the director plays in a fast-forward motion gives us a slap on the face.

What if Sebastian gives Mia an affectionate kiss instead of pushing her apart rudely when they first meet? Will they fall for each other sooner?

What if Sebastian goes to Paris with Mia? Then she may not meet another guy, and he can open his dream jazz club there.

Most often, we make decisions that are seemingly reasonable, and as if these are the only way out. However, when we take a step back, we will find that dream and love can actually go hand in hand, just that our selfishness shades our eyes when it comes to success, and thus leaving us regretful for life.

It is heart-breaking to watch the ending: the happy Mia in contrast to the lonely Sebastian.

It is like the butterfly effect in love, every different choice leads to a different ending. Yet, after seeing this movie, we learn that what seems impossible in life may become possible, and it all depends on our choice. Love and dream can definitely co-exist.

We may have seen a sad ending in the movie, but from it we draw an inspiration, that we can write a happy ending in reality.

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