“Here’s to the ones who dream
Foolish as they may seem” – Emma Stone
La La Land entered its opening weekend to much hype and expectations. The film seems headed to a showdown with the equally hyped Moonlight for Oscar glory this March. I came into the viewing eager to see if the film could match its critical acclaim or if it was a case of Hollywood glorifying itself. The answer isn’t as simple as you’d think.
La La Land is an examination of both relationships and following one’s dreams. We follow two people trying to make it in the world’s entertainment Mecca; Los Angeles, California. Mia (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) an aspiring jazz musician who bump into each other during their respective quests for success and begin a budding romance. As their relationship develops, the two serve as motivators for their respective dreams. Mia, becoming a successful actress and Sebastian, opening a jazz club in the same famed locale where legends have previously played. La La Land is a deep examination of what it means for a person to follow their dreams amidst all the hurdles and obstacles that pop along the way to glory. Mia and Sebastian buoy and motivate each other through these struggles, whether it’s Mia helping Sebastian name his future club or Sebastian encouraging her nostalgic, one woman show (more on this in a bit). The heights that one can reach and confidence that one gains when supported by someone they love is wonderfully displayed on the upswing of Mia and Sebastian’s relationship. If La La Land accurately displayed the ups of such a relationship, it did the same for the downs when one partner may reach the summit of their mountaintop before the other reaches theirs.
During a night on the town, Sebastian runs into an old friend from college named Keith (John Legend) who offers him a spot in his jazz fusion band The Messengers. Feeling the pressure to hold onto a steady job for Mia, Sebastian accepts and embarks on touring and recording with Keith and the band. The job pays well but the strain of the required travel eventually wears on the couple. During a surprise dinner, Mia and Sebastian fight over his being gone, her inability to adjust to his schedule, and whether or not Sebastian is compromising his passion for jazz in exchange for success. Mia pushes Sebastian to hold on to his dream of owning a club and playing the music he wants but Sebastian wants to “grow up.” The strain comes to a head when Sebastian’s work commitments prevent him from showing up to support Mia’s one woman show, which bombs in both attendance and reception. After an emotional breakup, Sebastian provides his own encouragement by reconnecting with Mia and forcing her to respond to a callback for an audition, which turns out to be her big break. This part of their arc highlights the fact that many times, achieving your dreams requires the support and belief of loved ones even when you’ve abandoned any belief. Sebastian blows up when confronted by Mia at the dinner table about a lack of belief in what he’s playing with The Messengers because in the back of his mind, he knew that she was right, that he didn’t believe in what he was playing and that he had given up. That sort of challenging, tough love form of support can cut like a knife to someone in denial.
The movie ends five years after Mia and Sebastian are split apart by the realization of their respective dreams; Mia’s taking her to Paris. She returns to LA a movie star and stumbles upon Sebastian’s jazz club while out on the town with her husband. Upon realizing she’s in attendance, we’re presented with a sprawling musical number showing what could have been if Mia and Sebastian had never split. But alas, it was all a dream. Mia leaves the club but not before sharing one final moment with Sebastian through distant eye contact. The couple smile at each other, an unspoken acknowledgement of their pride in one another for reaching their dream and kudos for a job well done. The moment is a beautiful, emotional piece of acting and one of the best movie scenes of the year, even if it is a little too reminiscent of Casablanca.
La La Land is impeccably directed, and has lush, excellent cinematography; the best this year alongside Batman v Superman and Nocturnal Animals. Director Damien Chazelle filled his film with constant homages to Old Hollywood in the form of shot recreations, the opening title frame and ending frame, some of the scene transitions, and various artwork and murals in literally every other frame. I enjoyed many of the shots that almost seemed to be done in one take ala Birdman. He’s now my preferred winner for Best Director in the Oscar race. There were also concerns among many going in about the film making a heavily Mexican city like LA too white but, I thought it handled diversity well with extras and side characters, despite only one supporting non-white actor. Many female viewers have expressed annoyance with how Sebastian seems to speak down to Mia during a scene where he explains his passion for jazz and why she should enjoy it as well. Not something I noticed as a man but it has come up enough to where the scene could probably have used some adjusting. There’s also the question of whether or not the movie does enough to emphasize the everyday struggle of a budding artist and not just the emotional struggle. Both Mia and Sebastian live in decent housing in ok parts of LA for struggling artists and Sebastian even lives alone somehow. Both have decent transportation and seem to get by OK. I think overlooking this aspect of what it means to be a struggling artist could cause some to negatively view the movie as Hollywood engaging in self indulgence and the patting of their own backs (more on this in a second).
The original score composed by Justin Hurwitz is also second to none, with City of Stars and Audition as the standouts. The musical numbers harken back to Old Hollywood as well but are well paced and not overdone. You can watch this movie without being a fan of the genre.
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling both put forth great performances as the leads and are worthy of Oscar nominations. La La Land has way more moments of levity and humor than have been advertised and both lead actors really sell and push the humor when needed and appropriate. Their comedic timing comes in handy and really helps to make the movie enjoyable. Stone sells her portrayal of a struggling actress determined to make but slowly succumbing to disappointment after disappointment. Steely-eyed optimism gives way to the temptation to finally give up. She has made the Best Actress race far more competitive than I expected going in. The choice between her and Natalie Portman will be close. Gosling also shines as a wide-eyed jazz obsessive who falls in love with a fellow dreamer and doesn’t give up on her even when she gives up on both him and herself. His performance is yet another underrated one in 2016 (Jake Gyllenhall in Nocturnal Animals is another) when most seem eager to just hand the golden statute to Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea.
The big question after seeing La La Land is whether it or Moonlight should be crowned the best film of 2016. Awards season has pretty much been exclusively a battle between the two and Oscars will almost certainly be the same. The question is a closer one than I expected it to be; I was certain La La Land only received such critical acclaim because Hollywood critics loved the smell of their own farts. La La Land is very much an inside LA/Hollywood film, about the film industry and very old Hollywood centric. This is not on accident and directly referred to in the movie. While discussing Mia’s one woman show, she asks Sebastian if the show is too nostalgic. He says that’s the point, she asks well what if people don’t like it. Sebastian replies “Fuck em.” Despite the old Hollywood reverence, the film is more than that, as I have explained above. Chasing one’s dream, failing on the way toward it, and being engrossed in a whirlwind romance along the way is a universal experience and is as much at the forefront of the film as the LA-centric stuff. However, I think that the questions about societal expectations, black masculinity, and identity raised by Moonlight are more pertinent, interesting, and executed than another story about love and aspirations as portrayed by La La Land. I’ve noticed that people who go crazy over this do all love how reminiscent of Old Hollywood it is rather than the substance of the film itself. It’s a close race but, I feel that Moonlight’s unique take on these issues will stand the test of time over another musical about a pretty young couple, no matter how well executed that musical is. I would recognize Moonlight this year for that. While La La Land’s story was able to rise above the LA/Old Hollywood stuff for me, I do think if it were to dominate the Oscars this year, it would be because industry people are being too reverential to that stuff.
La La Land is definitely worthy of a watch and lives up to the astronomical level of hype it had going into its release. It manages to be about more than the LA/Hollywood-centric butt-kissing many expected of it and instead makes the viewer think about their own passions and dreams, following those dreams, and those who loved them that helped them along the way.
Image: Summit Entertainment
