So La La Land is a film everyone needs to see. Not because it’s politically important or anything like that, but I feel like it’s a movie that everyone can love from a film making stand point even if you’re not in to that kind of thing.
The director Damien Chazelle also made a film called ‘Whiplash’ which is personally one of my top 10 all time favorite films, so going in to this I thought I had his style pretty much locked down, but while there is some of his style still there. He does something else to add more to his style, which is distinguish fantasy from reality. Most people don’t know this about La La Land, unless some people caught on during the ending, but pretty much all of the musical numbers happening in the film are fantasy sequences only to be drained out by reality in the end. The fantasy is what our characters want during the movie but in the end accept the reality that was given to them.
The entire movie is shot like a 1940s musical but it’s set in modern day which I thought was a great touch because not only do we NOT need movies like ‘Rock of Ages’ and ‘Mamma Mia’ which literally just use annoying versions of songs already made, but La La Land uses their own original songs with the help of composer Justin Hurwitz who also composed ‘Whiplash’. It also shows everyone that this is the way musicals SHOULD be made. Not a song every 5 minutes kind of thing.
This movie uses sets like an old musical would and even sequences with no singing just dancing which I thought were the most beautifully filmed, because to tell the truth, I’ve never seen it filmed like that before.
I also think people can relate to these 2 characters (played brilliantly by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling I should add), Ryan Goslings character is one who is incredibly passionate about what he does and tries so hard to do what he wants to do, even though what he wants to do isn’t very popular anymore. That is the same exact arc with Stone but it’s not that what she wants to do isn’t popular it’s that it’s such a hard field for her to get in to. We all have something we’re very passionate about and this movie is pretty much a love letter to those who are passionate, it actually motivated myself to go and pursue my passion even further than I already have.
And that ending…. It’s perfect, not a single shot felt misplaced, the music is beautiful, and the connection between Stone and Gosling is heartbreakingly beautiful. I cried…. I actually cried and I’m not afraid to admit it. I won’t spoil the ending for those who haven’t seen it, but it just might be the best ending to a movie I have ever seen.
Thank you Damien Chazelle for realizing my passion for film making and analyzing films and thank you for making La La Land. Guys, please check this movie out…. Please. I have not met a single person who did not like this movie.
