'La La Land' Review

The Sundance Film Festival is known for finding the upcoming film makers in the USA. Some of these directors you might have heard of. These include Tarantino, O. Russell, PT Anderson, Wes Anderson, Soderbergh, Aronofsky, Jarmusch, Coens, Coogler, Haynes, Linklater and several more. Now we have another name to add to that list. Damien Chazelle.

The one complaint musicals always get (and always will) is "why do the characters breakout in song and dance when no one in real life does that"? Well, why don't you become a superhero and secondly if the purpose of cinema is escapism then musicals are that purpose in its purest form. A musical doesn't even have to have musical numbers to work. (E.G. Lola by Jacques Demy - it's described as a musical without music and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - every word is sang). However this one has stuck to a traditional story and a couple of numbers in there format. Because this movie sticks to the great American musical movie genre tradition. It has spun it on its head and its resulted in one of the most satisfying movies in a long time.

But what makes La La Land such a revolutionary film yet so traditional? Well most musicals have a romance and so does La La Land but it's updated to modern day Los Angeles. It isn't the kind of romance that would have been portrayed in movies like My Fair Lady or An American in Paris. While it retains a comedic edge it shows the slightly unhinged characters as they are determined to reach their goals. This is partly because its two lead actors. The first being Emma Stone who plays an aspiring actress (Mia) and the other being Ryan Gosling who plays a jazz pianist who dreams on one day opening a jazz club that will one day revitalise Jazz for a new generation (Sebastian).

Damien Chazelle's script has the characters both working towards their dreams and aspirations. The romance that goes along with it brews between the two is one that tests their dreams and aspirations. They aren't in a sour relationship nor are they bad people in general or towards each other. It's a relationship of tests and compromises, just like a real relationship. It isn't one of the ones isn't glamourised. The way Hollywood are (in)famous for. However Chazelle was sure to include plenty of humor, most of which comes from Ryan Gosling's great comedic timing.

To capture the energy of a city in a movie through cinematography is hard and only a small handful of DoPs can do it. It's the Christopher Doyle of Hong Kong, the Robert Elswit of LA or the Gordon Willis of New York. Linus Sandgren hasn't done many movies based in LA but with this cinemascope masterpiece he would have anyone fooled who didn't look that up. It's also refreshing to watch some eye candy in a movie that isn't tinged to the max with blue and orange/yellow. The colours used are used more creatively and the practical ones (in the frame) are used to give the scenes more character. Frames are used to show the beauty of the a city I never thought of as 'beautiful' before.

To design a world that needs to feel retro but never feels like we're in the past wouldn't be an easy task. Production designer David Wasco and costume designer Mary Zophres pull it off in style. At times I thought to myself "wouldn't it be nice to live in the 1950s were there was such an energy in what people wore". I would have to look into more detail on how they did it but I do know they deserve awards for their work.

You can't have musicals without music and here in Whiplash it was provided by Justin Hurwitz. He's work with Chazelle on everyone of his three films so far. I'm sure their partnership will one day be talked about along the lines with 'Demy and Legrand' and 'Spielberg and Williams'. Hurwitz's numbers are always fun but when they need to be sombre, he does what he needs to. The songs are catchy and can be listened to by themselves.

But the show belongs to Damien Chazelle. A man that has brought a cinemascope, 50s like LA to not only our screens but our hearts through two amazing lead performances. Before watching La La Land I read a quote from the Oscar winning director William Friedkin. It read "I’ve seen the future of American Cinema and his name is Damien Chazelle.", oh boy is he right. If you saw Whiplash and thought it was a one off effort you are wrong. If La La Land ever gets a sing-a-long experience, don't be surprised to see me there.

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Overall Score: 10/10

What did you think of La La Land? Let me know.

La La Land is currently in cinemas

Director/Writer: Damien Chazelle

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend and JK Simmons

Cinematography: Linus Sandgren

Editing: Tom Cross

Music: Justin Hurwitz