La La Land (2016, Movie)

Format: Movie (theatrical showing)
Director: Damien Chazelle
Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Release Date: August 31, 2016
Runtime: 2 hours, 8 minutes

Typically the type of films that I go to fit into the superhero, science fiction, fantasy, or horror genres. La La Land, being a romantic musical comedy-drama fits very squarely outside of my normal viewing habits. Despite this, I found the film to be very enjoyable.

The movie is about an aspiring actress named Mia who works at a coffee shop between auditioning for various roles. Sebastian is a jazz pianist who is also struggling to be successful and pay the bills. They meet up at a party and soon enough start to develop a relationship. The film covers both of their attempts to succeed in the entertainment business as well as their struggles to hold together a relationship amid all of the pressure around them coming from the industry. The plot is well done in how the romance feels real and carries a lot of emotion with it but it also succeeds in not being generic or stereotypical in the way it deals with romance.

La La Land is a movie that shows a lot of enthusiasm for a lot of different things. Mia is really into older movies from the 1940s-1960s such as Rebel Without a Cause and a lot of the movie feels as though it is from the 1950s. The lightning, style of musical, and the fact that it is in cinemascope (an aspect ratio popular in the 1950s) shows a real love of classic film. Even more noticeable is a love of classical jazz music. I'm not typically the kind of person who sits down and listens to an older album or has a lot of interest for music in general. However, the film's love for it is infectious as I really enjoyed and breathed in all of the music and the atmosphere as it came along.

For a musical there aren't necessarily a lot of songs in it in the traditional sense. The movie starts with a big opening number and does have a few of those moments where the characters will break out into song (which are all well done). However, there are plenty of scenes in the movie without that element and jazz music being such a core plot element meant that music was always in the forefront even if it wasn't one of those "breakout in song" moments.

The acting by both Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling here is exceptional as I really felt for both of the characters. They were both very likable and all of the emotions throughout the movie I felt as well, regardless of what the emotion was that was trying to be conveyed. It doesn't surprise me at all that they both won the awards for best actor and actress at the Golden Globes for this film.

Overall I would say that this is an excellent film. Even though it isn't necessarily in my ballpark I certainly enjoyed it while I was watching it and was entertained the while way through. This is one of those movies that will likely be remembered in the future and stand the test of time. Even if you don't have a lot of interest in these kind of movies do yourself a favor and give it a watch.

Spoilers

I thought that one of the best executed parts of the movie was the ending. There were many different ways the movie could have gone and I am glad it never veered into either generic or unlikable territory. I was surprised that Mia and Sebastian didn't end up together and I thought it was perfect how it pulled off that bittersweet feeling of how they both got what they wanted in life but at the same time they didn't.

Right at the end where Mia looks back on the past five years and sees how it could have gone differently really struck a cord and is something I will remember for quite a long time. Also, one thing I noticed partway through the movie that I thought was cool (and clearly intentional) is how Mia and Sebastian's relationship went along with the seasons as they appeared on screen with summer being their highest point and fall being the season where it all fell apart.