Review of La La Land (2016) by Micah F — 10 Mar 2017

"La La Land" is grand. Not as good as Chazelle's "Whiplash" from a couple years ago, but still a near immaculately made film from a technical standpoint. Can't really find a tangible gripe for it, so I guess that means it's one worth recommending.

My main hiccup with this movie is that it is completely safe. This is a movie that clearly aims for "Best Picture" heights, because nothing is quite so ingratiating to Hollywood than a movie about Hollywood. Especially when this "La La Land" in question is presented with virtually no flaws or corruption. I understand that the film is doing this intentionally, and that the whole idea of the aesthetic is to bring back visions of the Gene Kelly golden age of Hollywood musicals. And to that end, the film is executed with near-perfect precision. But I could not help but keep thinking back to "Whiplash" and how bold that film was both in presentation and the statements it was making. This film is likewise about never giving up on dreams, and the more realistic, non-coruscating elements which bookend the film promise a real payoff on that front. But the majority of the movie's main body is so concerned with getting just the right lighting, just the right dance moves, and just the right timing that much of the blood, sweat and tears that come along with that promise are cast aside.

This is a movie that simultaneously knows exactly what it wants to be and yet flirts with something dingier and more poignant. And my admittedly personal tastes almost always respond more to the latter. So for me, this film is a technical marvel that objectively deserves all of its accolades from a purely cinematic place of critique, but it just doesn't have anything truly original or memorable to say. And that is disheartening, because Damien Chazelle might just be the most talented person in movies today. I just hope he continues to push himself and his audience into more groundbreaking territory in the future.