La La Land (2016): Review
La La Land is one of the most magical movie-going experiences within the last decade. A near perfect musical that wallows in both nostalgia and romance. With a relentless vision from young auteur Damien Chazelle, and an unforgettable performance from Oscar front-runner Emma Stone, it is without a doubt that La La Land is the perfect example of extravagant filmmaking.
La La Land revolves around Mia Dolan (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress in Hollywood, California. After running into a jazz pianist named Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) over and over, the two sing and dance their way into a picture perfect relationship. Full of soaring musical numbers, and even several melancholic scenes, La La Land makes for not only the perfect date movie, but an incredible viewing for all cinephiles alike.
The first, and most obvious strength of the film is Chazelle’s vision. Before the title card even appears, we get a three minute musical number on a freeway in Los Angeles. Filmed entirely as a “one-take”, this first number absolutely encapsulates the audience. Forcing you to sit upward in your seat, and start tapping along with the song’s melody. Hot off the heels of his Oscar winning Whiplash, Chazelle is clearly trying to one up himself with this project. And his vision is crystal clear: not only in the musical numbers but even in the more down to earth scenes. From the way that all of the colors pop in both the costume and production design, to the movement of the camera and the actors. Chazelle has an unstoppable vision, and this is clearly evident on screen.
There are a few negatives to the film. They are not strong enough to overturn the magic of the film, but still are potent enough to warrant discussion: the screenplay is a bit bland in comparison with Chazelle’s vibrant voice. One of the largest perks in Whiplash was its screenplay, but with his latest writing endeavor, Chazelle falls a little flat. And the screenplay isn’t necessarily bad, but when the rest of your film is crafted almost like a dream, it’s hard for every part of the film to be perfect. The next noticeably obvious aberration is Ryan Goslings’ performance. He steals the show as the “pretty boy musician”, but when it comes to delivering certain lines he falls a little short. And this could be because Emma Stone is such a powerhouse, but Gosling clearly doesn’t fire on as many cylinders.
That being said, Emma Stone is just pure bliss on screen. The film clocks in at two hours and eight minutes, and that runtime is just overflowing with everything that Stone excels at. Singing, dancing, crying and being quirky. She manages to make the entire audience fall in love with her from the first minutes she’s shown on screen, til her final moments. It’s obvious that Stone has learned a lot from working with several different directors over the years, and she brings all of that experience to the table with this project. Not only channeling Easy A Emma Stone, but also bringing a bit of Birdman Emma Stone to the table. She handles the singing and dancing with grace and beauty, and yet still manages to handle the more serious scenes without missing a beat.
La La Land is a film that understands how to encapsulate its audience. From the insanely well choreographed musical numbers, to making us fall in love with the characters. Chazelle knew exactly what he wanted to achieve with this project, and boy does he achieve it. La La Land is a magical movie-going experience that will stick in your heart for quite some time. If you aren’t a fan of musicals, you’re gonna fall in love with this one.
