La La Land is exactly the masterpiece I hoped it would be. I have been waiting to see this film ever since they announced casting of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling for a jazz musical (two things I love) directed by Damien Chazelle, hot off of Whiplash. He is perhaps our finest young director today. It did not disappoint; it was so beautiful. How do you know you're watching something special? I literally had goosebumps, and there were moments in the film that just brushed over me. It's when you can physically feel the euphoria take your breath away. Only film and classical music do that to me.
Let's start with the plot. It's simple but it's classic a la Golden Age Hollywood. I have to admit, their first encounter in the restaurant tricked me. It was the seen that we're fooled into thinking we knew already from the trailer, but it's not that scene. At first you're taken aback, but then you understand that their courtship is a little more complex than that. Amidst the dream-like sequences, the plot and dialogue is actually extremely realistic. The dialogue is perfectly natural. The movie is so emotionally affecting because it is so well written.
This is a contemporary musical nostalgic for a time gone by. That theme is played out through Seb's infatuation with traditional jazz. It makes a plethora of references to the classic musicals of yore, but it looks forward. It includes the requisite pas de deux, and the big numbers, and the recurring musical themes. It moves towards a wistful ending, not necessarily the happy one you expect from old Hollywood (the ending actually sort of coincidentally reminded me of Once). This movie has depth the way song-and-dance used to be able to get away without.
Chazelle's love letter to Hollywood is necessarily a love-letter to movies (the tone is reminiscent of Cinema Paradiso). You know I love movies about movies. But it's more than that. Because Los Angeles is a unique city. He captures the spirit of a town full of dreamers. Briefly about the ending--I think it's perfect. It reminds us that the essence of the film is not simply their love for each other, but for their high hopes and dreams. The film, after all, is named for the city that will make or break you.
This review is going to get a lot longer than I intended but I'm going to keep going cause there's a lot of ground to cover.
The look: the colors are perhaps a little too obvious. And by that I mean, they pop so much that we're not used to such bold un-patterned primary color coordination. But I think that adds to the dreaminess of the film. The ten-minute balletic epilogue is just stunning. The cinematography is just stunning. Los Angeles has never looked so good. La La Land is not the first film to do the long takes, but it does it very impressively. Someone in the Crowd requires some fancy camera navigation and a well-placed mirror. The opening sequence was all filmed in one shot. I think we've entered a period (maybe starting a few years ago with Gravity) in which the expectation is for contemporary films to go big and do the long single takes. It is becoming normal. But that is not to underscore the massive achievement of getting it all at once perfectly.
Jazz: The soundtrack is phenomenal. I've been playing it on repeat nonstop. Also, looking at the lyrics more closely, they're appropriately fitting. Justin Hurwitz has two Oscars coming his way, for sure. I think jazz is very fitting for Los Angeles. LA is not a jazz town, but the music really captures that trying spirit. Everyone is a constant struggle to make it and what is jazz if not about improvising your own path. As Sebastian points out, it is conflict and compromise.
Acting: I saw Emma Stone in Cabaret on Broadway and she was great. She's not the best singer and neither is Ryan Gosling. But if they could sing, then they wouldn't be struggling artists. The whole point is that they are talented in their own right, but that's not always enough in LA. The parts don't call for excellent singers. They were correctly cast. The leading lady and man are our new Hollywood couple. They've acted together before and I imagine they will continue. They have the look. I love the scene when they're singing City of Stars together. Whereas some scenes look like the actors are singing to a track, this one is unequivocally live. You hear and see it in the imperfect tone and the quavers in their voices. It is vulnerable and human. And it pulls us down from dream world (or la la land). Ryan Gosling plays piano very convincingly. Even if he can only play those couple of pieces, that is pretty impressive. Emma Stone carries the film though. We may focus more on Sebastian's story line, but Emma Stone gives her character dimension and emotion more interesting than Gosling's. I do think John Legend was a weird choice; he's a little too smooth for jazz. I kept thinking Jamie Foxx would've been great.
So if you couldn't tell, I loved everything about this movie. To people that say they liked it but didn't love it, just look and hear and moreover feel how beautiful this movie is. Don't confuse it for a shallow musical. It is more complex than it may let on.
