La La Land - Review · 4:08am Oct 16th, 2016
Yes, I got to see one of the hottest and most anticipated films of the year; it was the opening night film at the Chicago International Film Festival this year, and I got tickets to see it. Being as I haven't written a real review all year, I felt that you all deserved at least this one.
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While musicals are certainly not complete rarities nowadays, Damien Chapelle's newest film may very well give the genre the same boost back into the limelight that Baz Luhrmann gave it when he made Moulin Rouge. The mixture of atmospheres that's created in this film is otherworldly. The screenplay, the delivery of lines by the actors, and the sheer lack of edits to give the audience a complete and flawless performance mirror a sleek Broadway stage production, and the music, cinematography and production design give off an aura of a classic film musical from the 1950's, and even with all that creative throwbacking, it's still it's own fresh and unique monster. The use of song-and-dance are less a genre mechanic and feel more like a metaphor for the passions and unrequited feelings of joy and love each of these characters feel. There is a point in the film where the music just dies, and it's very subtle, but you feel the heartbreak these characters experience in a way the writing and performances couldn't deliver, and it really is disarmingly genius, dare I say groundbreaking.
It should be noted that Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone practically helm this film entirely by themselves. With the exception of John Legend, who gets quite a few scenes as well as a song, many of the other actors appear for either one scene or appear in smaller little bits, the film rests squarely on their shoulders. Ryan Gosling's Sebastian is a cynical and nostalgic jazz pianist and Emma Stone's Mia is an edgy and optimistic coffee barista hoping to become an actress. Certainly not the most original pairing of characters, but it's the chemistry that they both actors share that makes all the difference, which is only further enhanced by the gloss and glamour around them. Gosling's skills on a set of keys is as charismatic and hypnotic as his personality, and Stone shows a very wide range of emotions through Mia's auditions and her life with Sebastian. Both can expect Oscars on next day air.
Going into this movie, I was almost certain that this film was not going to come close to topping Chazelle's last film, Whiplash, which has already become one of my top favorite films. I want to bring this up, because it brings me to one of the few gripes I do have with the film. The film brings up an issue that was already discussed in great detail in the previous film: jazz (and not the Kenny G variety that Mia knows (probably replacing the "Starbucks jazz" J.K. Simmons referred to in Whiplash) is dying, and it desperately needs a comeback. I wouldn't have too much of a problem with it if it weren't delivered so similarly to the previous film. And while the film does make humorous and biting indictments of our current pop culture, where I felt the film step on the line is when Legend's song starts up, as I feel like it began to shun the music solely because it wasn't "real jazz" as opposed to it simply being music and being in an environment that Sebastian wasn't comfortable with (which was done much better earlier in the film when he played keys for an 80's cover band).
Despite all that, I'm very happy with how this turned out. Even all the trimmings and trappings of the greatest musicals ever written and performed/put on film, it still comes off as one of the freshest and overwhelmingly original films you will see this year, and is certainly one of the most revolutionary for its genre in years, perhaps decades. It won't be coming exactly soon, but when it comes, brace yourself. You really won't know what hit you.
Final Verdict: A
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