La La Land

La La Land

Released: January 2017

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

Director: Damien Chazelle

A musical that even the musical haters will love.

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I have a confession to make. I do not enjoy musicals, in fact I positively dislike them. They make no sense to me. Why do people constantly burst into impromptu song? How come everyone knows they tune? It doesn’t work in the real-life world, trust me, I’ve tried. You just get stared at. Everything about them terrifies me.

So I was dubious when I opted to settle into La La Land. ‘This is a risk’ I thought.

A risk well worth taking though.

La La Land is an absolute delight, one which is utterly impossible not to fall in love with at once.

Our story is straightforward enough [a staple for the musical though [no, we loves this film, be nice!]]. Through a series of chance encounters, Seb (Gosling), a down-on-his-luck jazz musician meets Mia (Stone), an equally luckless actress.

These meetings lead to the two quickly falling for one another, before each pushes the other to pursue their true loves of music and acting, instead of just settling for their mundane lives.

The simplicity of the plot is by no means a bad thing though. If anything, it makes the film a more enjoyable experience, creating a genuinely believable story, which allows the songs to entertain, and the characters to enthral.

Until last year I could have easily counted the Ryan Gosling films I’ve truly enjoyed on one hand. But it appears he’s travelling from strength to strength. Emma Stone rapidly seems to be climbing the Hollywood ladder, rising from geeky female co-star, to a genuine female protagonist. Both provide the assured but vulnerable characters that form the cornerstones for the glorious piece.

La La Land is, at its heart, a modern take on the traditional musical. But, instead of disrupting the flow of the film, or being a simple aside, the musical interludes help drives the narrative, offering a quirky skipping stone past some of the duller chapters we frequently encounter in a more traditional rom-com. Their simple inclusion means when they do appear, they are a natural occurrence, rather than feeling awkwardly crowbarred in to meet some arbitrary “songs per minute” target.

It would be poor form for me to not mention the fabulous use of colour and lighting throughout, and the myriad of perfect wardrobe choices [if you didn’t already love 50‘s style dresses and brogues before, you will now]. The almost dingy interiors contrast dramatically with the bright LA exteriors. There is a clever contrast between the darker, dingy scenes, where so often Seb and Mia find their moments of true joy and inspiration, and the bright outdoors of LA, where their lives are often sterilised and controlled by external pressures.

This is particularly evident in the scenes set in jazz clubs throughout where, with the music, wardrobe, and gritting lighting, you could be forgiven for following the characters on one of their nostalgic trips to the golden age of jazz and cinema, with La La Land reflecting this style wonderfully.

La La Land is perfectly executed and well worth all the acclaim and awards attached to it. You aren’t just taken along on the journey of Seb and Mia, but feel like a part of it too, and will leave the cinema with at least one of its songs stuck in your head. In many ways, La La Land is a perfect adaptation of the classic musical love story, bringing it into the 21st century with ease. All in all, it truly is a modern classic. With 2017 still being young, I’m hesitant to suggest that this is the best film of the year (especially with the host of films on their way), but if you only see one musical this year, make sure that this is it.

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🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5 Stars

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I loved

La La Land is a wonderful journey from start to finish, and is effortlessly easy to love

Pet Peeve

For some reason, Emma Stone occasionally reminded me of Philomena Cunk and you just can’t unsee that!

It’s almost a necessity to buy a pair of black and white brogues after you’ve seen it

Philomena Cunk