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La La Land is one
of the best musicals I’ve ever seen. For me it’s right up there with Singin’ in the Rain and West Side Story. Visually La La Land is way more advanced than
any of the musicals it pays homage to. I’m not really a fan of musicals. I
usually tolerate them. The Sound of
Music, for instance, is tolerated because of the usual annual viewing. When
I was younger everyone was talking about Chicago
except me and a few like minded people. I normally find musicals excessively
dramatic with their musical and dance numbers. The exceptions for me are Singin’ in the Rain, West Side Story and now La La
Land because there is some genuine dramatic heft in these films, something
that resonates with me beyond the music and the razzle dazzle. For the first
couple of minutes while watching La La Land
I thought this would be another empty bourgeois spectacle but by the end I
obviously changed my mind. I’m not here to debate whether this film should have
won the Oscar for best picture because I have not watched the more contemporary
Moonlight as yet. Like I said I have
been a bit late with films released in the latter part of 2016 and I’m not
getting paid lol. It’s another foolish dream of mine to write about films and
to be taken seriously just like the protagonists in La La Land decide to follow their dreams before waking up. Whether
or not the musical genre is dying La La
Land will go down as one of the greats. Any musical after this will have to
be really good. Musicals are a very elite category now which means one is
released every 5 years or so.
La La Land is a
musical about two dreamers trying to make it in sunny California; LA to be
exact. One, Mia (Emma Stone), is an aspiring actress and the other Sebastian
(Ryan Gosling) is an aspiring jazz musician in the old fashioned way who wants to open his own jazz club. Their
dreams bring them together but it also tears them apart: The bittersweet price
of following your dreams.
Positives
There are many positives about this film especially as I
have now called it one of the all time great musicals. The question is: Does
that make it a great film? Only time will tell. This film is right up there
with the best of its genre. It clearly pays homage to the genre as a whole. I’m
not that familiar with the names of the choreographers and musical composers so
don’t expect a history lesson from me. If you ever watched a classic musical
before though you will understand while watching this film that it’s paying
homage to some bygone era. There is a clear historical current particularly
with the opening musical number. When I saw that opening musical number I said
to myself ‘Not again please. Not in the mood for this.’ Let’s just say I
thought I was going to slog through this one as I did with other musicals.
There is something else to the film though particularly its contemporary vibe. The Artist was so disappointing for me
because it didn’t have a contemporary edge. For me it’s one of the great
travesties that The Artist is listed
as a best film winner at the Academy Awards. La La Land does pay homage to the musical genre but because of its
contemporary vibe it does transcend it in some way. Yeah, the protagonists are
actually living in the era of smart phones and so how does the film adapt.
Damien Chazelle knows what he’s doing here. He also did some serious research.
Yes he just won the Academy award for Best Director and yes it’s fully deserved.
He used the historical basis of the musical genre and he transcended it and
made something his own. The film actually has something to say about California
and how to carve out your own niche in the midst of rapid modernization.
The primary theme that got me is not the one about pursuing
your dreams but how important it is to lay a foundation so that you can pursue
your dreams. For the majority of the film what we see is a foundation being
laid as Sebastian and Mia come together and then drift apart. In the initial
stage, or the year they found love and lost it, both characters romantically
pursue their dreams. This is when we
hear most of the musical selections for this film and the accompanying
choreography. In the romantic pursuit you can see that something is being
built, that a foundation is being laid. Their coming together is an obvious
part of that foundation. In order to seriously pursue your dreams a solid
foundation has to be laid one way or the other.
I also saw a bit of Annie Hall
in this film. Apart from the musical numbers and the accompanying choreography
we witness some fantastic visual sequences as a result. Things are happening as
they try to figure it out. There are the obvious speed bumps along the way but
things are still happening and so once the foundation is laid then there is
take off. The bittersweet moment comes towards the end though because we
witness the price of following their dreams and actually being successful at
it. ‘Feels like Old Times’. I have only been moved by two other musical films Singin’ in the Rain and West Side Story. Those films were
released decades ago and now there’s La
La Land. Does this mean La La Land
is a great film? In the context of musicals it does. Others might not see it
that way. I have to be emotionally moved by a film to consider it worthy. It
should tug at my heart strings a little or resonate with me on a serious level
i.e. get me thinking. The bittersweet scene towards the end is probably
Chazelle making peace with a genre he loves but is now accepting that times
have changed and we have to change with it. If other filmmakers want to bring
back the good old days then La La Land
has shown them how to do it. Don’t follow The
Artist.
I liked some of the musical selections in this film. They do
reflect Mia and Sebastian’s story. I particularly like the one where they were
referring to the waste of a lovely night. Something like that. I wasn’t keeping
track. Mia’s final song was pretty good as well. Overly dramatic but pretty
good. 'City of Stars' is pretty good as well.Some of the musical numbers without the lyrics were more up to date
This film really captured the look and feel of sunny
California, particularly the Hollywood aspect of it.
Negatives
The primary negative for me is that all the limitations of
the musical genre are here as well. The superficiality of the choreography and
the music to say something meaningful means that there is no need for dialogue
in certain areas. This leads to a lot of exaggerated elements and a sappy
attempt to recreate the good old days. It’s a pity that some of the
choreography wasn’t more up to date. Tap dancing? Really? In one scene Mia
literally swaps her heels for tap dancing shoes. Oh dear! This is where the
nostalgic vibe held the film back. As with most musicals there are some empty
areas when there isn’t some razzle dazzle. It’s as if they say enough so they
can get to the next musical selection. A lot of musicals are guilty of that.
The opening number was a bore for me as well as the 2nd one. I get
that the opening number was to introduce us to La La Land. It’s a musical after
all. I only really got into some of the musical elements when Mia and Sebastian
got together; that’s when there was some magic.
Initially I thought
where is the struggle here? The pressure and pain? It just seemed like some
petty bourgeois folks trying to identify with some struggle but not necessarily
engaged with it. This is another reason why the musical genre died a
slow painful death. All the singing and dancing can be very distracting at
times. Distract from the real issues. If someone is down hearted they sing a
song or dance. At times it comes across as too upbeat and annoying, too
artistic, denying the cold, hard reality. La
La Land is guilty of that in the initial stages. Fortunately, the best
musicals also have a really good story to tell and that saved La La
Land from ignominy or the shame of basking in its own superficiality. If
you’re a contemporary observer who is not a fan of musicals you will only get
into this film if you can trudge through the opening 20 minutes or so.
Still well done to Damien Chazelle. I’m not saying that this
film can bring back the genre but it deserves its place among the stars.
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