La La Land

What's the title?

La La Land

Who directed it?

Damien Chazelle

When was it released?

2016

Would I recommend it?

This is hard. For a piece of visual art, yes, unequivocally, I recommend you go see it. Old school movie magic drips from every shot of this film. It’s so pretty, you guys. But story wise? I wouldn’t recommend this movie for cynics – there is so much about this film that is fairytale-esque. But I wouldn’t recommend this to the hopeless romantics either because this film is in quite substantive ways very much not a fairytale. I think there is a vast swath of people in between those two audiences that would love this musical, but I can’t give it a flat recommendation because I could see how this film could alienate. So, I guess I’d recommend you giving it a try with the caveat that YMMV.

What's it about?(non-spoilers)

La La Land is a musical about two creatives, a jazz pianist and an aspiring actress, in modern day Los Angeles find each other as they face the hurdles and hardships of pursuing their dreams.

What did you think? (spoilers)

Yes, I know. I’m about a good four months behind the conversation on this one. At least. The buzz has come and gone, as has the backlash to the buzz. Faye and Warren read the wrong card. Moonlight got the Oscar. I get it. La La Land has dominated the conversation for a very long time and is only just now starting to calm down, which is precisely why now is when I saw it. I am, not to put too fine of a point on it, a stubborn mule. I don’t like being told what to do or what to like (I still haven’t listened to Hamilton and probably won’t for a good while yet), so when everyone and their great-aunt Mary was talking about this film, I was content to let it slide in and out of the theater, passing me by. However, when I saw that my local discount theater was showing it, I figured, sure, I’ll pony up two bucks to see it on the big screen. (Side note, I love my discount theater. If you can find one near you, I suggest you take advantage of the magic that is two dollar tickets.) Now because I had waited so long to see the movie, I knew how it ended. My hopeless romantic viewing buddy did not. Consequently, we had rather different viewing experiences.

We both loved the beginning, but I mean, what’s not to love? It’s a musical. I love musicals. Singin’ in the Rain is one of my all-time favorite films, and every time I watch it I lament that no one today makes films like that anymore. Well, Damien Chazelle did make a film, almost exactly like that, and it’s magical. The color palette is full of bright, primary colors. The characters love their town and their art, and there’s such hope. At one point the sister of Ryan Gosling’s character is trying to get him to face facts, to stop being such a romantic. “You say that word like it’s a bad thing,” he responds. That statement exemplifies this film’s whole attitude. Be genuine, care, smell the roses, enjoy the magic, there’s nothing wrong with being romantic. There were moments in this movie that were so sweet they made my teeth hurt.

The singing and the dancing were so fun. More movies should have singing and dancing. The opening scene alone is worth the price of admission (choreographed by Mandy Moore, which made me nostalgic for that time in high school when I was obsessed with So You Think You Can Dance). My viewing buddy was more impressed with Emma Stone’s and Ryan Gosling’s singing and dancing abilities than I was. That’s not to say Stone and Gosling aren’t good. They are. It’s just that their voices were a little soft for me and their dancing not quite as precise as I would’ve liked. I’m hardly on an expert on either discipline, however, so don’t give that opinion too much credence.

The duo’s acting prowess is on full display here. Stone is always endearing, and her Mia is no exception. She’s a pleasure to watch on screen. Gosling plays an adorable goof; his Sebastian is an insufferable purist with a heart of gold. Both leads get moments of humor and heartbreak, and both were able to convey the gamut of their characters’ emotions truthfully and with nuance.

The soundtrack is so perfectly ear-wormy. I’ve caught myself singing “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” several times a day since I’ve left the theater. Just like the songs got stuck in my head, so did certain shots. Remember how I said this film was a beautiful piece of visual art? Well, I was not joking. Without meaning to, I’ve found myself, not at my desk or in line for the grocery store, but back on the hilltop where Mia and Sebastian have their first dance or on the pier where Sebastian first hums “City of Stars” or in the Realto on the couple’s first date and their fingers ever so slowly creep toward one another’s hands. Or the Epilogue sequence – which brings us to the ending.

Okay, I know I mentioned spoilers above in the section heading and that it’s been literal months since this film came out, but in case it has somehow still escaped your notice, let me be real clear - I’m about to spoil the ever-loving snot out of this film’s ending. If you would like to not know how La La Land ends, turn back now. Leave. Get out of here. Go on now, get.

You still here? So be it.

The movie ends with the couple broken up for years, but both having achieved their artistic dreams. Mia is an A-List actress with a loving husband and daughter. She and her husband accidentally stumble into Sebastian’s jazz club, the one he’d always wanted to open. Mia and Sebastian lock eyes, thrown together after five years, and the audience is whooshed into the Epilogue dream sequence that shows the relationship between them that could have been – the Hollywood ending. I loved this sequence. I’ve never really liked the dream trope in musicals. I didn’t much care for it in An American in Paris, and the whole Cyd Charisse detour in Singin’ in the Rain is my least favorite part of that movie. But here? The dream sequence works so well.

A movie that supports the magic of Hollywood takes the time to revel in the necessary artifice of that dream ending while also emphasizing how much of a lie it would be to indulge in that artifice. The scene is ethereal and heartbreaking. The two of them found their dreams at the cost of their relationship. La La Land allows us enough magic to get Mia and Sebastian happiness, but not enough for them to achieve that happiness with each other. To go beyond that, to the watercolor world of the Epilogue, would be a step too far. It would move the story from the realm of dreams to the flight of fancy.

When Mia turns back for one last look at the man who changed her life, who helped her find her dream, all I wanted was for him to smile at her. I sat there in my seat, wishing, pleading for a smile, for an acknowledgment of what they did for each other during the moment in time when they both needed the other. And he did. He smiled at her and she smiled back and I was satisfied.

My viewing buddy was not. She cried and sobbed and proclaimed that it was a terrible ending and that she hated the movie. And I get it; I do. She felt lied to – like the movie broke its promise of good faith. She went into the movie expecting a Hollywood fairytale, an expectation it met and reinforced for about ninety percent of the running time, and then, seemingly out of nowhere, the film forces a realistic ending. (Although not all that realistic. Mia’s career and Sebastian’s club are pretty huge successes that would hardly be guaranteed in the real world). If I had gone in not knowing from the beginning that Mia and Sebastian wouldn’t end up together, I might have felt cheated by the ending as well.

Although, then again, maybe I would’ve liked it all the same. I tend to like complex endings. Not sad endings, because those feel like indulgent cynicism. And, for me, a lot of the times happily-ever-afters feel fake. But nuanced endings, bittersweet endings? Those feel the most truthful to me. So I was good with the ending, but I understand why others wouldn't be, hence why I couldn't give it a flat recommendation.

Still, I liked the movie. A lot. I’m sure I’ll watch it again. After its massive success, I’m hoping Hollywood will make more musicals because it’s a wonderful genre that doesn’t get nearly enough love.

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