Critics are a “rat-tat-tatting” along with the smooth sounds of “La La Land”. This comedy-musical is getting phenomenal reviews from critic’s and it deserves so. The film surpasses any musical in the past years and is rich with comedy, wit and Oscar worthy performances. So Oscar worthy in fact that it has been nominated for 14 of them, some being Best Original Score, Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress. The film stars Emma Stone playing an aspiring actress, Mia, who works in a coffee shop in a movie company part-time while hustling to auditions in between shifts. Her co-star is Ryan Gosling, Sebastian, who plays an edgy jazz musician scrapping up money to make a living by playing at different venues. The plot revolves around the two in your not so typical love story. From start to finish the film does really well at surprising you as well as getting you what you would expect from a romantic comedy. One of themes that I took away from the film is that love always has a cost. No matter what you do in life, you will always have to sacrifice the things you love for the people you love. To put it in the words of Mia, Stone, in a duo with Gosling, Sabastian, entitled “City of Stars”, “It’s love, yes all were looking for is love from someone else.”
When speaking of the soundtrack of “La La Land”, you can’t help but do just the opposite, dance. The soundtrack features a dynamic number of genres from jazz, to original musical pieces to soft instrumental jazz songs. The soundtrack can be found on Apple music, Spotify and most streaming music applications. I would highly encourage you to give it a listen if you are interested in hearing the perfect walking tune, “Another Day of Sun”, or perhaps a new date song, “City of Stars” or simply something to study to, “Planetarium”.
Another great aspect of the movie was the cinematography and the visuals. The two hour and eight-minute film may be long, but it leaves no room for boredom. Every scene is so intricately cut and well put together that you forget you are watching a fiction movie. The director Damien Chazelle told reporters of The Guardian, “La La Land is about the city I live in, the music that I grew up playing, and the movies that I grew up watching.” The film’s setting portrays just that. The vibrant colors and classic style of shooting are absolutely breathtaking. You can tell that Chazelle drew his inspiration from classic Hollywood movies set in the very town they were made in, the beautiful Los Angeles. Many scenes left me with my mouth wide-open as I found myself lost in a trance of music, drama and fun that had me glued to my seat. To me, that is what separated “La La Land” from any other musical I’ve ever seen. Several scenes that makes you want to dance, cry, and simply whisper “Oh my gosh…. That was amazing.”
Emma Stone & Ryan Gosling were incredible. They had a spark on the screen that couldn’t be duplicated by any two actors, and this certain aroma around them in every scene made their roles seem like those classic, beautiful, and original movie stars from the 50’s. Stone and Gosling make you fall in love with the simplicity of films again. The film also had a minor cameo role by J.K. Simmons who added the perfect edge of intensity. No doubt it passes the mark for me when I think of musicals. It will forever be referenced in the same sentence as Iconic movies such as “Singing in the Rain”, or “Casablanca”. Rather if you’re a musical person or not, if you watch this film you’ll be singing for “La La Land” in no time.