La La Land

Director: Damien Chazelle

StarringRyan Gosling, Emma Stone, Amiée Conn, Terry Walters,Thom Shelton, Cinda Adams

Rating: 12A

Running Time: 128 minutes

Released Date: 13 Jan, 2017

Damien Chazelle is back with his first film since WHIPLASH. Keeping with the jazz theme, LA LA LAND reunites Ryan Gosling (THE NICE GUYS and THE BIG SHORT) and Emma Stone (BIRDMAN and EASY A) as our LA dreamers in a jazz infused, tap dancing homage to the musical.

Gosling and Stone are our old fashioned movie stars, set in the heart of Los Angeles, this contemporary film is injected with some vintage glamour of a by gone era. Gosling plays Sebastian (who goes by the name of Seb), a struggling jazz musician and enthusiast. He dreams of owning his own Jazz bar, where set lists and synthesizers are no more.

La La Land

Stone plays Mia, an aspiring actress and playwright who works as a barrister on the Warner Brother’s lot. She’s always trying to leave work early to get to her next audition, but struggles to catch the attention of the casting agents. They meet in a traffic jam; Mia is practising her lines for an audition and doesn’t see the traffic start moving. Seb, an exasperated driver bibs his horn and over takes Mia, whilst she gives him the finger.

LA LA LAND then takes us into Mia’s world, her glamorous friends, parties and bedroom decorated with old Hollywood posters. Coming home after a night out she is drawn by the sound of the piano coming from a bar where she meets Seb. Chazelle creates a beautifully tender moment, as the lights go down and all we can see is Mia as she gazes at Seb playing the piano. Chazelle transports us away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood for just a few seconds whilst we listen to the music –  it’s almost like we’re in a trance.

La La Land

Back to reality and Seb pushes past Mia to leave the club after he was just fired for going off the set list (Seb’s manager is played by J.K Simmons from Chazelle’s film WHIPLASH). The narrative changes direction as we get a sneak peak into Seb’s life, his passion for jazz music and his apartment filled with boxes and odd ends.

Chazelle arranges his film according to the seasons, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, with Mia and Seb’s relationship taking the same structure. They meet again in Spring at a pool party where Seb has a gig playing the synthesiser in an 80’s cover band. They sing, they dance, and they fall in love to the tunes composed by Justin Hurwitz (the lyrics are by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul) and a picturesque back drop of LA.

La La Land

Chazelle depicts Seb and Mia’s relationship through the songs and dancing, but also through the set pieces, and cinematography. Extreme close ups of their hands meeting on their first date or the wide shots showing them looking back at each other, add subtle yet effective ways of showing the cute first stages of a relationship. The pairing of Stone and Gosling was always going to be a winner; they both have natural charm that fits perfectly with the film.

LA LA LAND is steeped in the nostalgia of the 40’s and 50’s Hollywood glamour. The painted back backdrops, the dance sequence that lifts them into the clouds and the SINGING IN THE RAIN style lamp posts transport you into another world. Sometimes all it takes is the ringing of a phone to remind us that this film is set in the present day.

La La Land

Under all the singing and dancing is a slightly poetic ending of ‘everything happens for a reason’ and for a film that is essentially about the pursuit of dreams I think this is quite fitting. Chazelle’s film celebrates the classic Hollywood and also leads the new Hollywood. I’m sure this beautiful yet charming film will get people tapping their feet all the way to awards season.

Verdict

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