La La Land - Review
Director: Damien Chazelle
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend
Writer/director Damien Chazelle's passion for music was abundant in his 2014 acclaimed picture Whiplash, so it's hardly a surprise that he's taken his ardour for the endeavour and created a musical. Claiming the title of the most decorated film in Golden Globes history, La La Land is an awards juggernaut that will surely extend to the Oscars. With critics and audiences alike practically salivating over it, is La Land worth making a song and dance about?
After an unconventional and antagonistic meet-cute, aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) and angsty jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) eventually embark upon an idyllic relationship. However, Sebastian gets a job gigging in a successful band and the pair's bond and faith in their respective dreams are tested.
An old fashioned love story crafted with the sincerest and deepest affection, Damien Chazelle has clearly poured his heart and soul into the picture and his reverence for the genre and classic musicals pervade every aspect of La La Land. The filmmaker's two most prominent influences, Singin' in the Rain and Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, are deftly captured, with the feel-good fuzziness of the former and melancholy of the latter both greatly felt. Homages to the past are certainly paid, but Chazelle never forgets to appeal to the modern audience; with his daring camera work and era appropriate wit and humour, the emerging auteur makes the classic feel contemporary and the worn feel fresh. If any musical can convert even the most cynical cinema-goer into a fan of the genre, then it's La La Land.
It would be very easy for the sublime musical sequences to seem ridiculous - in one moment, Mia and Sebastian are embroiled in relationship drama that would not be out of place in an indie film, and in another they're waltzing off into space and sealing their newfound romance with a Hollywood kiss. But the tone is acutely controlled throughout the piece and you're never jarred from the quiet scenes into the sheer spectacle. Instrumental in maintaining tonal cohesion are the dazzling lead performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone who approach their roles with fearless gusto. Gosling's performance as disdainful dreamer Sebastian, a talented pianist who believes it is his duty to single-handedly save jazz is pitch perfect. Meanwhile, Stone as Mia races through a spectrum of emotions, from buoyant to lively to downright distraught and is irresistible every second she is on screen. The duo's chemistry certainly shows no signs of fizzing out after two previous outings in Crazy, Stupid Love and Gangster Squad and their partnership echoes the frequent pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Neither actor can dance like the aforementioned couple can and their voices aren't Idina Menzel calibre, but these imperfections make their characters even more authentic. And besides, they're having a blast, so you will, too.
Composer and co-lyricist Justin Hurwitz has created an instantly classic and insanely infectious soundtrack for our two leads to wrap their vocal chords around and to move their A-list feet to. The opening number, Another Day of Sun, is a beaming ball of energy that takes place on a crammed and sweltering Los Angeles freeway. Irate drivers beep their horns impatiently. Passengers tune their radios, each listening to an entirely different station and type of music. As the catchy "ba ba's" creep in, everyone eventually unifies into a splendour of song and dance, turning the most tedious of situations into an experience that will plaster the biggest grin on your face. It's a bold way to open a film, but considering it's a piece that wears its heart on its sleeve, it only seems fitting. The neophyte nature of Chazelle and Hurwitz who were roommates in college only makes their widely successful collaboration more tremendous - two budding creatives have become fully fledged artists and are a testament to the film's message directed at the dreamers out there.
If 2016 was a year full of rain, La La Land kicks off 2017 with a blast of sunshine. Imagined and performed with the utmost endearment, the film raises a glass to the aspirational, the ambitious and the undeterred. So, cheers - here's to the fools who dream.
EB
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend
Writer/director Damien Chazelle's passion for music was abundant in his 2014 acclaimed picture Whiplash, so it's hardly a surprise that he's taken his ardour for the endeavour and created a musical. Claiming the title of the most decorated film in Golden Globes history, La La Land is an awards juggernaut that will surely extend to the Oscars. With critics and audiences alike practically salivating over it, is La Land worth making a song and dance about?After an unconventional and antagonistic meet-cute, aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) and angsty jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) eventually embark upon an idyllic relationship. However, Sebastian gets a job gigging in a successful band and the pair's bond and faith in their respective dreams are tested.
An old fashioned love story crafted with the sincerest and deepest affection, Damien Chazelle has clearly poured his heart and soul into the picture and his reverence for the genre and classic musicals pervade every aspect of La La Land. The filmmaker's two most prominent influences, Singin' in the Rain and Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, are deftly captured, with the feel-good fuzziness of the former and melancholy of the latter both greatly felt. Homages to the past are certainly paid, but Chazelle never forgets to appeal to the modern audience; with his daring camera work and era appropriate wit and humour, the emerging auteur makes the classic feel contemporary and the worn feel fresh. If any musical can convert even the most cynical cinema-goer into a fan of the genre, then it's La La Land.
It would be very easy for the sublime musical sequences to seem ridiculous - in one moment, Mia and Sebastian are embroiled in relationship drama that would not be out of place in an indie film, and in another they're waltzing off into space and sealing their newfound romance with a Hollywood kiss. But the tone is acutely controlled throughout the piece and you're never jarred from the quiet scenes into the sheer spectacle. Instrumental in maintaining tonal cohesion are the dazzling lead performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone who approach their roles with fearless gusto. Gosling's performance as disdainful dreamer Sebastian, a talented pianist who believes it is his duty to single-handedly save jazz is pitch perfect. Meanwhile, Stone as Mia races through a spectrum of emotions, from buoyant to lively to downright distraught and is irresistible every second she is on screen. The duo's chemistry certainly shows no signs of fizzing out after two previous outings in Crazy, Stupid Love and Gangster Squad and their partnership echoes the frequent pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Neither actor can dance like the aforementioned couple can and their voices aren't Idina Menzel calibre, but these imperfections make their characters even more authentic. And besides, they're having a blast, so you will, too.
Composer and co-lyricist Justin Hurwitz has created an instantly classic and insanely infectious soundtrack for our two leads to wrap their vocal chords around and to move their A-list feet to. The opening number, Another Day of Sun, is a beaming ball of energy that takes place on a crammed and sweltering Los Angeles freeway. Irate drivers beep their horns impatiently. Passengers tune their radios, each listening to an entirely different station and type of music. As the catchy "ba ba's" creep in, everyone eventually unifies into a splendour of song and dance, turning the most tedious of situations into an experience that will plaster the biggest grin on your face. It's a bold way to open a film, but considering it's a piece that wears its heart on its sleeve, it only seems fitting. The neophyte nature of Chazelle and Hurwitz who were roommates in college only makes their widely successful collaboration more tremendous - two budding creatives have become fully fledged artists and are a testament to the film's message directed at the dreamers out there.
If 2016 was a year full of rain, La La Land kicks off 2017 with a blast of sunshine. Imagined and performed with the utmost endearment, the film raises a glass to the aspirational, the ambitious and the undeterred. So, cheers - here's to the fools who dream.
EB
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