La La Land
Director: Damien Chazelle.
Screenplay: Damien Chazelle.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Rosemarie DeWitt, J.K. Simmons, John Legend, Tom Everett Scott, Callie Hernandez, Jessica Rothe, Josh Pence, Finn Wittrock, Keith Harris.
“I’m letting life hit me until it gets tired. Then I’ll hit back. It’s a classic rope-a-dope”
The Hollywood musical has all but become a thing of the past and a genre that few filmmakers attempt anymore. If I’m honest, it’s really no loss to me. Musicals are not something that I’m overly enthusiastic about. Growing up, I remember liking Grease and contemporary ones like Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge and, especially, John Turturro’s Romance and Cigarettes were very enjoyable but, for the most part, I often overlook them. That said, with a record equaling 14 Oscar nominations and a record breaking 7 Golden Globe wins, Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to the impressive Whiplash can not be scoffed at.
Plot: Mia (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress in Hollywood struggling to catch a break. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is in the same boat as he dreams of getting out of playing cocktails bars and becoming a serious jazz musician. Their paths cross and as their relationship blossoms, they are faced with either stardom or holding onto true love instead.
Song, dance, razzmatazz and Jazz are what’s on the menu with Chazelle’s latest. Whether you enjoy musicals or not will most likely play a huge part in your enjoyment of it, though. Technically, it’s wonderful and Chazelle has a real handle on his musical numbers and choreography. It’s also quite beautiful to behold. There’s no arguing with the style on show here as it’s quite a dazzling picture. However, there’s very little substance underneath it’s style. It suffers from a generic romantic plot and there’s a few too many musical ditties to cover up it’s glamorously dull narrative.
I actually think I might have enjoyed it more had it been tighter. For a start it’s way overlong and overstays it’s welcome by a good half hour. There isn’t enough material here to warrant its 2hrs 8mins running time. In fact, Chazelle really wrings the material out at the end. To paraphrase one of my six-year-old daughter’s more unusual quips: ‘He held onto this like he was strangling a baby’s neck‘. Don’t get me wrong, though, the end sequence cleverly brings things full circle and doesn’t succumb to formula but I got the distinct feeling that Chazelle never wanted it to finish. Like a rebuffed lover, he refused to let go. And who can blame him when he’s having so much fun? I, on the hand, had had enough by that point.
This being said, it is hard to be unkind to the film as there’s an obvious array of quality on display; David Wasco’s production design is a sumptuous palette of colour and Linus Sandgren’s cinematography captures it beautifully. It’s also got two delightful lead performances; Gosling showcases some genuinely impressive piano skills while Stone delivers a wide range of abilities and both of them display an adeptness at their song and dance routines.
Credit where it’s due, Chazelle has successfully brought the musical into the modern era with this, unashamedly, nostalgic piece. It’s a charming film but not one that excited or entertained me as much it has others. Those that enjoy romantic or musical films will find much more to embrace here and will, undoubtedly, rank it higher than I have. I can’t argue with that and I can’t say it’s a bad film. I appreciated it for what is but musicals in general don’t really have me singing from the rooftops.
Mark Walker
Trivia: Emma Watson turned down the role of Mia due to scheduling conflicts with Beauty and the Beast (2017), while Ryan Gosling turned down the role of the Beast in that film to appear in this one. Coincidentally, both are musicals.
MARKED MOVIES 
February 22, 2017 at 10:15 pm
We sing and dance all day long like this here in L.A., don’t ‘ya know. 😉
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February 23, 2017 at 4:00 pm
And we in Scotland still run around in kilts, wielding our Claymore’s 😉
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February 22, 2017 at 11:40 pm
Ah good on ya for telling it like it is Mr. Sir. I was underwhelmed by the “chase your dreams” narrative. It was so much more compellingly interrogated in Chazelle’s previous film. And Whiplash had the added bonus of turning jazz music into a goddamn rock concert. That movie ruled. La La Land is good but I think Whiplash was brilliant.
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February 23, 2017 at 4:03 pm
Yeah, I’d agree, man. Whiplash was much more impressive and gripping. I could see the quality within La La Land and can appreciate why a lot of people have swooned over it but it wasn’t really for me. Decent but not great!
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February 23, 2017 at 3:56 am
Nice review Mark. While I do agree that La La Land favored style over substance, I found it difficult not to enjoy the film. I’m not a musical fan by any stretch but La Land Land was just a pure joy to watch for myself (it may have helped that I saw the movie after returning from a trip to L.A.). Although I think Whiplash is the superior picture, La La Land shows that Chazelle is one of the best new talents working today.
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February 23, 2017 at 4:05 pm
Cheers man. It certainly does show that Chazelle has a lot of talent. I was actually very impressed with how the film was structured and shot but I got a bit bored half way through. Take half an hour off and I reckon I’d have been more engaged.
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February 23, 2017 at 4:30 am
When I first watched this. I think I had the same reaction as you. I really liked it, but didn’t fully love it.The musical numbers were not strong and I thought it was kind of long When I saw it a 2nd time, everything was a lot more enjoyable for me. I got into the characters and the songs more than I did before. I do agree with it’s nominations except for Best Original Screenplay. I do think it will win Best Picture
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February 23, 2017 at 4:07 pm
Yeah, I’ll probably give it another chance Vern. Hopefully it works better but there’s no doubt that I felt it was overlong. I can also see why the Oscars have lavished support on it but, you’re spot on, the screenplay wasn’t very good. It shouldn’t have bee nominated for that at all.
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February 23, 2017 at 6:35 am
Excellent work as always! Still something I would like to see at some point – all you hear about is La La Land nowadays.
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February 23, 2017 at 4:09 pm
Cheers Zoë. A lot of people love this film. There’s no doubt I’m in the minority here. But put romance and musicals together and I automatically tune out. There’s plenty of impressive things going on but it bored me after a while.
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February 23, 2017 at 1:28 pm
Mark, love the honesty. Chazelle is great in my book –I adored Whiplash and liked La La Land for the Jazz music. It’s a beautiful film but can’t touch West Side Story as best musical.
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February 23, 2017 at 4:11 pm
I had to be honest, Cindy. Like I mention, it’s hard to be unkind to the film but I really didn’t catch on with the buzz surrounding it. I was a huge fan of Whiplash too and, despite not really liking musicals, I have seen much better than La La Land – West Side Story included.
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February 23, 2017 at 2:12 pm
I think I was a bit taken aback by how it all became like a Ryan Gosling indie pic there for a bit rather than a musical but I admire the ambition of it. Nice review and your daughter is a budding wordsmith.
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February 23, 2017 at 4:13 pm
I admired its ambition too, Lloyd. There was a lot I was impressed with but, ultimately, it was the story that I found the biggest fault with. It was generic romantic material and it dragged on far too long for me. So much so, that I tuned out after a very impressive first half.
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February 23, 2017 at 4:39 pm
Yeah I’ll be very surprised if it wins an Oscar screenplay.
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February 23, 2017 at 4:40 pm
I don’t say that to be mean, the script is not terrible but the consensus seems to be that it is not as strong as say the cinematography.
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February 23, 2017 at 4:47 pm
Yeah, I totally agree. The cinematography is beautiful and Chazelle’s direction is very impressive but I don’t even think it should have been nominated for its screenplay, let alone win it.
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February 23, 2017 at 8:32 pm
For me the biggest problem was the lack of romance. Gosling and Stone had more of brother/sister chemistry for me than lovers kind. Also neither of the songs were catchy for me and I don’t know, maybe i’m just too cynical to empathy with artistic dreamers like that
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February 23, 2017 at 8:53 pm
I thought the chemistry with them was ok but I see what where you’re coming from. The musical numbers never really grabbed me either but it was the length and how drawn out it was that irked me most.
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February 24, 2017 at 2:33 am
I love this one. It makes my heart sing.
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February 24, 2017 at 3:27 pm
Glad to hear it, Jay. I just wish I could say the same.
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February 24, 2017 at 3:31 pm
You and I are on exactly the same page…I wrote a post on how overrated this movie is. I just don’t get the hype. Yes, I appreciate it for what it is, but it’s not groundbreaking or anything… sigh …
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February 24, 2017 at 3:39 pm
Thanks Courtney. There’s not many of us out there. It seems that the masses have lapped this up and it looks likely to grab quite a few big Oscars. It’s a shame when mediocre material makes such a huge impact.
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February 24, 2017 at 3:43 pm
It wasn’t the strongest year, honestly, but we can both agree it was a great year for indies!
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February 24, 2017 at 4:16 pm
Yeah, like most years, it got stronger towards the end but I still struggle to see any real lasting quality. So far, I’ve only given out two 5 star reviews and I even wavered on whether 5 stars were justified.
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February 24, 2017 at 4:23 pm
Agreed. Check out my top 10 if you get a chance, and let me know what you think. I’d be curious to hear your opinion!
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February 24, 2017 at 4:44 pm
I’ll do that. I’ll swing by now. 🙂
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February 25, 2017 at 12:46 pm
Now I liked this but Best Picture favourite? It’s a safe choice (I much prefer Moonlight – sorry). It’s a lovely film but there are better this year.
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March 1, 2017 at 7:23 pm
Like Moonlight, I found this to be hugely overrated. I think the debacle of the Best Picture announcement kinda suited the lack of quality I found in both films. 😉
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February 26, 2017 at 12:30 pm
I enjoyed the balance in your review, you really put a lot of effort and thought into it. And it is refreshing reading this kind of review, when you get a nice feeling of fairness in it.
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March 1, 2017 at 7:25 pm
Cheers Vinnie.
Yeah, I have to give credit where it due. Even if I found the film to be vastly overrated, there were still some positives to be had.
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March 2, 2017 at 3:28 pm
I’m the kind of person who attempts to form my own opinion and not listen to hype. But that can be rather hard to do.
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March 3, 2017 at 8:10 pm
The hype can always get its claws into you. Even if it’s just to see what all the fuss is about. I don’t like to hold my tongue when it eventually disappoints, though. Moonlight is a prime example of this.
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March 3, 2017 at 8:13 pm
I think it’s great that you don’t feel cowed into making something sound better.
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March 3, 2017 at 8:15 pm
D’you know, when I started blogging, I was a lot more gentler on films but now I like to just tell it straight. I always try and say how a movie makes me feel.
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March 3, 2017 at 8:16 pm
Best to be honest Mark. I’m always looking to do that with my reviews.
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March 3, 2017 at 8:17 pm
Yeah, no use blowing smoke up their arses. 😉
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March 3, 2017 at 8:18 pm
I used to worry that my reviews leaned to much in a positive direction, but I’ve come to see that I usually strike a good balance.
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July 9, 2017 at 11:20 pm
I love La La Land! It is such a beautiful movie ❤️ This is such a fabulous blog post! I would absolutely love it if you checked out my blog xx
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July 11, 2017 at 9:51 pm
I’m not a hug fan of musicals in general but I could see where La La Land was headed and it dealt with things quite well.
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll be sure to return the favour. 🙂
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