★★★★★
27 November 2016
A movie review of LA LA LAND. |
“Why do you say ‘romantic’ as if it’s a dirty word?” Sebastian (Ryan Gosling)
LA LA LAND does the ultra rare: It is both for cynics and the sentimental. One can barely think of another film that achieves that feat. As the story progressed, just as one was about to be disappointed in Damien Chazelle, writer-director of the mesmerising WHIPLASH, due to an anticipated conventional plot convention, he adeptly pulls the rug from under us, simultaneously creating something both heartbreaking and uplifting. This is a film that has its cake and eats it.
LA LA LAND does the ultra rare: It is both for cynics and the sentimental. One can barely think of another film that achieves that feat. As the story progressed, just as one was about to be disappointed in Damien Chazelle, writer-director of the mesmerising WHIPLASH, due to an anticipated conventional plot convention, he adeptly pulls the rug from under us, simultaneously creating something both heartbreaking and uplifting. This is a film that has its cake and eats it.
While you may not be fizzing as you were at the end of Chazelle’s second feature, you will certainly be popping. Along with GUY AND MADELINE ON A PARK BENCH, the director has fashioned an accomplished, passionate music-themed trilogy.
One purpose of the opening credits roll should be there to ease the audience into the auditorium from the outside world. Here, the opposite works. LA LA LAND grabs you by the lapels. The opening scene astonishes. A musical dance sequence, set during a Southern California traffic jam, made to look like a single take, has one figuratively jumping out of the seat. (The potential of being bottled by my fellow critics prevented me dancing along in the aisle.) Different music emitting from different cars segues into a routine of unalloyed delight. The film taps into that emotion so vigorously that when Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian later start floating, in a touch of whimsy, we are there with them for the flight.
For peeps that do not relish musicals, there are large swathes of the runtime sans any such numbers. For those who do, the camerawork and choreography wow when the barriers of reality are broken. And homage is kept to a minimum – oh look, one registers, there’s a SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN-style lamp post, but thankfully only a sly nod and no weather precipitation and no use as a dance tool.
The seasons commence with winter. Of course there is almost zero snow, because this is the sunshine state; but there are momentary flakes to reflect a low point for the leading lady, made all the worse by the festivities of a soirée going on around her. At said house party, a guy jumps from a balcony into a pool and the camera rotates energetically from within the water. The second wow moment within 20 minutes.
The colour scheme is vibrant without being gaudy. Mia and her flatmates inhabitant a ridiculously flamboyant apartment, yet it all works tastefully. Almost otherworldly, looking out over Los Angeles, the city is a stunningly lit metropolis. Michael Mann’s HEAT springs to mind - because of the loving attention to detail - though that crime epic has cold hues. Here the warmth reflects the hope of the protagonists.
Mia is a struggling actress and Sebastian is a struggling jazz pianist. The continual rejection chafes, plus life’s usual petty frustrations rear their head. (No matter how beautiful you are, you are not immune to coffee being spilled on your pristine white shirt.) The narrative questions the definition of success – being true to artistic vision verses financial independence, with the preference, obviously, having both. One might argue that the only slightly bum note is Sebastian’s trajectory. While his path has us screaming at the screen, it is still believable.
WALL STREET’s poster tagline is equally as applicable to LA LA LAND: “Every dream has a price”.
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