La La Land

By: Yaki Margulies

Dreams come true in Damien Chazelle’s new musical La La Land, leaving viewers contented and warm if perhaps a little dissatisfied.  Following a Star Wars reboot and a divisive presidential election, not to mention a generally tough year for many, people are looking for escapism – often through the lens of nostalgia.  La La Land scratches that rose-tinted itch by coloring this contemporary story with shades of old Hollywood, Broadway-inspired set pieces à la Rodgers and Hammerstein, fashion styles from the ‘40s and a tap dance sequence hearkening back to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.  But while it scores bonus points for style, it may be lacking slightly in true adversity.

At the start of the film we meet Mia (Emma Stone), a struggling actor, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a down-on-his-luck jazz pianist, sitting in their cars stuck in some world-famous Los Angeles traffic.  No one is going anywhere – an easy metaphor for stalling careers in Tinseltown.  But in a fun moment of surrealism, everyone escapes their cars and dances on the highway in a wonderful opening number (“Another Day of Sun”).

We follow Mia as she traverses the harsh, sometimes demeaning, life of an actor. We watch as she goes on auditions where no one pays attention, works at a coffee shop where patrons complain about gluten-free options and attends Hollywood parties to network with self-centered industry types (a delightfully-familiar writer character, upon being introduced to Mia, launches into his accolades telling her he’s generating buzz as a self-proclaimed world-builder, assuming she’ll be impressed).

Sebastian, too, seems to have it rough as we learn he was cheated out of a deal with a past music partner and then gets fired from his soul-crushing piano gig on Christmas Eve (of all nights).  Through serendipity or fate, he runs into Mia multiple times in this city of millions and after a comically rough start they begin to connect through their passions for the arts.

What follows is a classic Hollywood romance, with all the realistic ups and downs of a budding relationship mixed with the struggles of reaching a sustaining and fulfilling career.  Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling revisit their strong on-screen chemistry (first exemplified in 2011’s Crazy Stupid Love), proving to be as charming as ever and their many comedic moments emerge honest and clever.  The only drawback of casting this dynamic couple was highlighted in the musical numbers where it was made clear that, while they are increasingly genial and engaging, neither Stone nor Gosling are veritable powerhouses when it comes to singing and dancing.  For a musical, it might have been nice (and occasionally less distracting) to hire actors who could also sing and dance suitably.

But you can’t fault the music.  Chazelle, who previously wrote and directed the jazz masterpiece Whiplash makes sure the music comes alive again here.  Justin Hurwitz’s soundtrack is impeccable in this film.  His themes run continuously through the picture, flitting in and out when appropriate, adding sweetness and solemnity to this ode about LA.

La La Land shows the beauty of this strange city, but also doesn’t hold any punches when examining the town’s idiosyncrasies and cruelties.  Without giving too much away, the ending is beautiful and bittersweet, though perhaps portrayed as a little too sad considering how well things work out.  In real life, many people chase their dreams, but not everyone gets to catch them.  When thinking about the other films in theaters during this current award season, one can’t help but feel that the issues and struggles that Mia and Sebastian face in La La Land aren’t perhaps as dire or full of gravitas as director Chazelle might want you to believe.  If you’re looking for a story of true courage in the face of hardship, this isn’t it.  But it does superbly as a fun piece of colorful escapism, reenergizing the movie musical format.

Final Assessment: 3.5 out of 5 stars – a charming, musically exciting and imaginative film that bears concerns that aren’t truly so awful or important in the grand scheme of things.