La La Land (2016)

 

Genre: Musical/Romance             Time: 2h 8mins            Director:Damien Chazelle

Quick summary: When Sebastian, a pianist, and Mia, an actress, follow their passion and achieve success in their respective fields, they find themselves torn between their love for each other and their careers.

This is a beautiful film about how two different people can impact each other. 

Overall this is very whimsical and dreamy, there is an incredible amount of care and thought put into this and you can really see it. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have amazing chemistry together, going from two people who very much dislike each other to then absolutely adore each other. Nothing is forced between them they very naturally meld with each other. Both of their performances ooze with emotion and texture, and they convey so much expression with their songs They're honestly such a delight to watch.

The camerawork is really what holds the film up, with how fluid it is and points directly at what it wants us to see exactly how it wants us to see it. Nothing is left to waste and everything serves a purpose. The design and use of music is handled so perfectly, everything is on beat. When the two are apart, the world is quite and full of dark/colours but when they are together the world has exploded into bright colours and bombastic music with perfectly choreographed dance numbers. 

This film brings together the two classic images of Hollywood; the glizty, glamourous and glossy 1940's version and the brutal reality. Somehow though, it still manages to romantize both in a wonderfully dreamy light.  It's daring and it isn't afraid to be incredibly out the box, layering themes and ideals within the text and aesthetic. 

The sad thing about this film is that the story becomes boring once all the layers are stripped away, and drags a lot within the second act. It strained to keep my engagement during this, with the soundtrack also coming up a bit short. Most of the songs I barely remember, aside from one or two which truth be told I only remember because they are iconicly played around the film. I think a lot of the appeal comes from the jumpy beats and bright colours.

This is one of the most grandest and stunning films I've seen in awhile, but gets lets down by a few things. I still do very much recommend this, but I won't say it's perfection.

7/10

"A Bit Of Madness Is Key To Give Us New Colors To See. Who Knows Where It Will Lead Us?"

"People Love What Other People Are Passionate About."

"I'm Letting Life Hit Me Until It Gets Tired."

"And here's to the fools who dream / Crazy as they may seem. / Here's to the hearts that break. / Here's to the mess we make."

"I'm Always Gonna Love You."