Directed by:
Damien ChazelleScreenplay:
Damien ChazelleCinematography:
Linus SandgrenComposer:
Justin HurwitzCast:
Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, J.K. Simmons, Finn Wittrock, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jason Fuchs, Sonoya Mizuno, Jessica Rothe, Candice Coke, Hemky Madera (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Written and directed by Academy Award® nominee Damien Chazelle, LA LA LAND tells the story of Mia [Emma Stone], an aspiring actress, and Sebastian [Ryan Gosling], a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern day Los Angeles, this original musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams. (Lionsgate US)
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Reviews (17)
It´s way too much for a musical, or perhaps it´s the other way around. Hard to say. In the first third, it is also a regular musical, where one well-directed musical scene in one shot alternates with another. But then the singing fades away and what remains is (and visually pleasingly beautiful) tribute to the technicolor era of Hollywood and classical jazz. Although still in the form of a music / dance film, but not a musical in the true sense. Or, conversely, there are too many songs and the opening third should also have done without them like most of the rest of the footage. But it should definitely have been fifteen or twenty minutes shorter. However, what saves the movie is the "we always have our beloved Paris" bittersweet ending. During this one, I would be willing to ignore every drawback.
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To be honest, musicals have never been and never will be my cup of rooibos. On the other hand, though, Damien Chazelle is a lure that I wouldn’t like to miss out on. At least because of Whiplash, which was perfection. You see, despite its plain premise, La La Land has great dance numbers, a perfect couple in the form of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, some very good songs and an almost perfect final scene, which any lover of films who believes that movies are made mainly to entertain shouldn’t miss out on. However, the entire film doesn’t have only these few strengths, it also proves that Damien Chazelle is not only a precise filmmaker, but also a great lover of jazz music with whom it can be expected that he will be forcing his love for jazz on us a couple more times in the future. And I for one will not mind at all.
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Am I supposed to feel touched by a stupid romance between two unlikeable, narcissistic elitarians? Am I supposed to suffer because of their first world problems? All because of a film with a plot disguised as a ridiculously banal allegory of the four seasons that is more see-through than Casper the ghost? Fuck no! There is plenty to praise (the random stage sets, a couple of cute moments, the last ten minutes or so – that would have worked better with more likeable characters), but if this is supposed to be an unrivalled favourite for this year’s Oscars, kiss my ass! No LA-LA here for me, massive disappointment. PS: I’m still thinking why this film didn’t work for me (because I really thought I would like it). The main reason I see is that the initial musical build-up of the relationship doesn’t manage (at least for me) to lay down a sufficiently strong foundation for the feelings in the ambitious non-musical ending.
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I'm not denying that it has the intrinsic energy and impressive technical processing, but I'm not willing to deal with the fact that the musical interludes actually hurt it (the second half, which more or less gets by without them, is much better than the first). In addition, the lavish kitsch framing the story of the supposedly naive but in many ways self-centered narcissists is actually annoying. What I want from Chazelle is any genre film where the music will be a means, not an end. Given his age, he has unique skills.
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Cute, thought-provoking, sad and happy. I like the realistic approach that Chazelle grafted onto the musical structure and its completeness. The dramatic arc in La La Land works incredibly well and indicates an active decision to make very alternative, unusual choices. Gosling and Stone are perfect.
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