Review of La La Land (2016) by Elo M — 02 Apr 2017

I am going to try to convince you to see this fantastic movie : La La Land ! It is really one of the best film I have ever seen in my life... So, La La Land is a musical directed in 2016 by Damien Chazelle (who won the Academy Award for Best Director) and the two lead actors are Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.

La La Land tells the story of Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a dedicated jazz musician who are both passionnate about dance and singing. They meet in Los Angeles and a love story is set up between the two characters. But the plot is really based on their career : their tries, their successes and mostly their failures...

The acting is just amazing ! Well, of course Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are originally brilliant actors but in this musical, they overstep the mark and they explode the screen. Their roles are extremely difficult seeing as they have to dance and sing. It is not regular to see actors in this position. This movie is hard to play because it brushes past different genres : it is of course a musical and all the difficulties that it represents for the acting but it touches also the romance, the comedy and finally the drama genre. So I can say that the actor's performance is absolutely great ! By the bye, Emma Stone won the Academy Award for Best Actress In A Leading Role for her Mia's role in La La Land.

It seems to me very important to write some words about the film techniques... Just to precise, to the Academy Awards Ceremony, La La Land cleared out the Award for Best Original Music Score, the Award for Best Cinematography and the Award for Best Production Design ! There is something which is magic in this movie : the atmosphere. In fact, the story takes place in present days but the setting, the costumes are older : it feels like being in the United States in the 50's. It is very funny and enjoyable. What about music ? Well, of course it is the common thread of the movie. But it takes a particular place for the characters : for exemple, one of the song is often repeated by Mia and Sebastian when they are sad or demotivated... and another one is characteristic of happy moments. The movie plays also on lighting sometimes like when a spotlight is pointed at an actor so as to give a kind of theatrical effect to the scene.

Of course La La Land wants to stage actors who represents the difficulties and all the hard process to get their break in the world of theatre, cinema and music. But even if La La Land presents a dramatic aspect of this situation, the movie encourages people to have dreams and to believe in its. Furthermore, (SPOILER ALERT) in the film, the love story have not a happy ending but it allows them to progress in their carrer and to do evoluate the two characters : it is a springboard. So, La La Land is not just a superficial romance but it deals also with important topics.

It is just gorgeous, like a flipbook made of dreamy vintage postcards that are somehow about contemporary life in Los Angeles. Chazelle's strong direction coupled with powerful performances from Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling help to create a wonderful and nostalgic treat at the cinema. I think it would be a shame to do not see La La Land seeing as it is still the most rewarded film this year !