‘La La Land’ Is A Modern Cinematic Melody With Roots In The Past | Film Review

One of the best trips to the cinema you can ever have is the one where you go with the clear intention of seeing one movie, end up seeing one you hadn’t planned on seeing, and walking away knowing you are likely much better off for it.  So I went to my local cinema in the hopes of finally catching “Jack Reacher 2” before it finished its run.  Alas, my hopes were dashed as I discovered I had missed the final showing by a mere fifteen minutes.  What to do, what to do.  Well, the grocery store was nearby, so I could have just wandered on over there to get stocked up before the weekend, or I could peruse the schedule and see if there was anything else of interest playing.  Now, this is a pretty small cinema; just two screens, but they may be playing as many as six or seven different movies over the course of a day.  As I looked down the list, I was surprised to see that “La La Land” was playing just thirty minutes from then.

Decision made, right?  Well, not exactly.  You see, I’m not exactly the biggest fan of musicals.  Also, the “Jack Reacher” outing was a planned solo run.  I don’t mind hitting the theater alone for an action, sci-fi, or horror outing from time to time – hell, I actually prefer it sometimes – but the idea of sitting through a 2 hour plus romantic-musical alone was a bit off-putting.  Besides these movies not exactly being my cup of tea, I could already see the questioning stares of the couples in attendance, wondering what I was doing there, all alone.  Again, what to do, what to do.  Ah, the hell with it.  I’d been hearing good things about “La La Land”, and I was already there.   In the end, it didn’t really matter.  There were only two of us in the theater.  She was sitting a few rows ahead, and I was in my favorite, mid-theater location.  We didn’t communicate before, after, or during the film.  I wasn’t interested.  She was very attractive, but since she was alone, she must have been nuts.

“La La Land” tells the tale of Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a down-on-his-luck jazz pianist who dreams of opening his own jazz club someday, and Mia (Emma Stone) an aspiring actress who spends her time between failed auditions slinging coffee at a movie studio cafe.  Their lives are not exactly working out as planned, but after a couple of chance encounters – that seem to hint at a shared destiny – things begin to change and romance blooms.  Do things work out for them?  Are their dreams realized?

This movie really caught me off guard.  To be honest, I wasn’t really feeling it for the first third or so.  This also happens to be the time when the two characters are not yet really together.  However, once they meet, everything changes and the movie really takes off as their love story takes center stage.  And it never slows down.  The emotional power behind some of the later scenes is hard to describe.  I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t at least a bit misty-eyed.  Now, was that because I was happy, sad, or a combination of both?  Again, you’ll have to find out for yourselves.   I’d rather not be on the receiving end of an Internet backlash because I ruined one of the most engaging love stories in a long while.  And it is a great one.

Director Damien Chazelle – coming off his critical and audience hit “Whiplash” – directs in a style that is deceptively simple, yet completely engaging.  Aside from a dream-like sequence in an observatory, the movie remains pretty much firmly rooted in the real world.  However, though it lacks the grandiose style of “Moulin Rouge” or the lavish, epic backdrops of “Les Miserables”, there is something about its version of Hollywood that really draws you in.  It is not anchored in a single era and seems to be a mixture of times both new and old, and it is this melange which creates the magic that grabs you and sucks you in.

There wasn’t anything especially grabbing about the scenery, but you can’t help but be mesmerized by it.  It’s how Chazelle frames his shots and guides his talent through them that deserves the credit.  And add to that the wonderful work of cinematographer Linus Sandgren.  He does some truly miraculous things with light and atmosphere.  Together, they have created something magical.

That said, as great as the directing and cinematography are, this is an actors’ movie through-and-through.  There aren’t any big explosions, no over-the-top humor, spaceships, superheroes, or exploitive sexy time.  The success of this kind of film rests squarely on the shoulders of its leads.  And they are so, so good.  Ryan Gosling, when he’s not dancing, both shuffles and storms through the movie as he struggles with the ideal future he clings to and the reality that weighs him down.  He says so much with a glance and a shrug, more than many can with a page of dialogue.

Emma Stone is so damn lovable, you can’t help but ache for her every time a casting director’s door gets slammed in her face.  She has one of the most expressive faces in Hollywood, and she puts her entire range on display here.  Wonderful work that will touch your heart and rip out your guts.  Ant they’re not too bad at carrying a tune either.  The rest of the cast do fine work, but they inhabit mostly minor roles.  This movie is all about Ryan and Emma, and no-one dares get in their way.

The musical numbers are flighty and engaging, and although I didn’t find them all memorable, they fit the mood and had my feet tappin’.  This isn’t a pure musical – it’s mostly dialogue driven with scattered musical moments – and I felt the flow from talkin’ to croonin’ was handled very well and didn’t interrupt or distract from the flow of the story.  That’s to be commended.  It’s not easy to combine these forms successfully, and it pretty much went off without a hitch here.

Again, I’m really not that much of a musical fan, but “La La Land” got me and it got me good.  I even have a greater appreciation for that first third that I said didn’t really click with me in the beginning.  I now see what it was doing, and realize it was my own doubts that I carried into the theater that prevented me from being engaged from the get-go.  That and wondering what that lone girl a few rows ahead of me was up to.  Dark things, I’m sure.

Whether you’re on a date, with a group, or going it alone, “La La Land” is a grand time at the movies that harkens to those olden, golden days when dreams made people dance, sing, and reach for the stars that they gazed upon so lovingly from lofty perches.  We don’t see a whole lot of that these days, and it is a welcome sight indeed.