LaLaLand Film Review

La La Land is a 2016 film written and directed by Academy Award winning director Damien Chazelle (known for Whiplash). The film is a modern musical masterpiece starring Academy Award winning actress Emma Stone as Mia and Academy Award nominated actor Ryan Gosling as Sebastian. La La Land was nominated for 14 academy awards and earned a PG-13 rating.

The film is a romantic musical about an aspiring actress, Mia (Emma Stone), meeting the aspiring jazz musician, Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). The two are both struggling financially, but find solace in each other. They then have to deal with trying to achieve their individual dreams as well as maintain their relationship.

This film is absolutely stunning. It is gorgeously shot and avoids the typical issue that is seen with musicals: The songs fit seamlessly into the narrative and are not forced at all. A common issue with musicals is to make the songs seem fluid instead of people talking and randomly bursting out into song. They then manage to carry the plot with the song. There is the first duet with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling where they carry actual dialogue in the song. The two leads manage to fit their roles perfectly. Ryan Gosling is the perfect man to play a struggling jazz musician and Emma Stone fits the role of aspiring actress exactly as you would picture one to be. They both are divinely beautiful, but in this film, both come off as attainable to everyday people. The film has a grand message as well. It makes a few statements throughout, but the ending gives a beautiful message that would spoil the film if discussed. It was really cool to see jazz coming in to the mainstream again as well. The film revived a musical genre that is often overlooked in this day and age.

La La Land is incredible. I haven’t had a film experience like this in a long while. The leads are both beautiful, but attainable. This just makes them both more attractive to the viewer. It also helps to make the film relatable to most people in an audience. This is a masterpiece in filmmaking. Damien Chazelle pulled off something amazing.

A+