La La Land - directed by Damien Chazelle
Musicals are pretty much the only genre of movie that I don't like as a rule but then Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have never teamed up to do one.
Until now.
I love Stone and Gosling separately but together they are amazing.
"La La Land" marks their third team up and this might well be their most impressive and successful one to date and I loved it.
Loved it a lot.
This movie may be a musical but at its heart it is a love letter to Los Angeles.
Ostensibly it tells the story of an aspiring actress (Stone) and an aspiring jazz musician (Gosling) who after a series of chance encounters begin a romance that may or not be good for both their careers.
Beginning with that very Los Angeles of things - a traffic jam - the movie immediately makes its musical intentions clear with a large scale set piece song and dance sequence featuring dozens of performers.
It is staged on a freeway on-ramp and courtesy of choreographer Mandy Moore's (no, not the singer) work seamlessly throws its many performers around impressively to great effect.
It also introduces us to the seasons of the year framing that the film uses with a title reading "WINTER" before putting us right alongside Ryan Gosling in his stationary vehicle and then into Emma Stone's car right in front of him.
A minor road rage incident occurs when Stone's Mia is too busy rehearsing lines to realise that traffic is moving and Gosling's Sebastian swerves around her angrily.
It will be the first of several encounters that the pair have in the early scenes.
Watching Mia and Sebastian fall in love is made even more entertaining with the inclusion of some song and dance scenes and some superb L.A scenery.
It is genuinely magical stuff and Gosling and Stone can really sing and dance.
The first time that they perform it is overlooking the sparkling lights of the valley.
They make use of a park bench and some fancy tap moves and it is out and out adorable.
That it was preceded by a very funny scene in which Sebastian reluctantly performs in a party band playing bad versions of A-Ha's 'Take On Me" and A Flock of Seagulls 'I Ran" only adds to the whimsy and sweetness.
I loved the old fashioned sweetness of it all.
The film even opens with a CinemaScope logo in 4:3 ratio, scratchy black and white widening out into pristine colour widescreen.
It harkens back to the golden age of musicals.
If this all sounds a little sickly sweet for your tastes rest assured that the tone changes somewhat along the way.
There is a fair amount of "A Star Is Born" about the story being told.
As the romance progresses through the seasons each party has success and failure and the decisions that they make will change everything.
Director Chazelle keeps the tone just right even when things start to go bad.
Watching this movie made me realise that seeing Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone fight on screen is no fun at all.
It feels like the first time you see your own parents lock horns in disagreement!
The point of course is that fame and success change people.
Stone in particular is amazing in this film and should get an Oscar nomination for her trouble.
The fact that her character is a struggling actress affords her a lot of moments in auditions to flex her acting muscle.
And Gosling spent hours a day for months practicing piano and the hard work pays off.
Scenes in which Sebastian is playing the piano are shot without the need to hide the work of a musician double - there wasn't one.
The level of proficiency that he reached is truly impressive.
"La La Land' is a complete delight from start to finish and when it did end I knew that I would need to see it again and soon.
It recalls old Hollywood where romance was PG rated and innocent and this is a welcome change from the normal raunchy stuff that we see on screen these days.
It is full of moments of magic from the Griffith Observatory scene in which Mia and Sebastian float weightlessly up into the star dome to the startlingly brilliant audition song that Mia performs.
It is interesting to note too that some of the terrible experiences that Mia has in auditions are based on recollections from both Stone and Gosling.
The latter really did have a woman take a phone call in the middle of a moving scene he was auditioning with.
It is hard to fault this film.
It comes at a time when we need this sort of film.
This is the first time that I have ever watched a musical not in dread of the next narrative busting interruption with a song but in anticipation.
Truly great.
RATING: 92 / 100
CONCLUSION: An instant classic and a complete wonder of a film. Intoxication, romantic, nostalgic and sweet it contains not a single bum note.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, J.K. Simmons, Rosemarie DeWitt, Anna Chazelle, John Legend, Damon Gupton, Cinda Adams, Callie Hernandez, Jessica Rothe, Sonoya Mizuno, Tom Everett Scott
Screenplay: Damien Chazelle
Music Score by: Justin Hurwitz
Cinematography: Linus Sandgren
Cinematography: Linus Sandgren
Edited by: Tom Cross
Running Time: 128 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Profanity - very minor and very infrequent
Running Time: 128 minutes
Language: English
Rated: M - Profanity - very minor and very infrequent
Until now.
I love Stone and Gosling separately but together they are amazing.
"La La Land" marks their third team up and this might well be their most impressive and successful one to date and I loved it.
Loved it a lot.
This movie may be a musical but at its heart it is a love letter to Los Angeles.
Ostensibly it tells the story of an aspiring actress (Stone) and an aspiring jazz musician (Gosling) who after a series of chance encounters begin a romance that may or not be good for both their careers.
Beginning with that very Los Angeles of things - a traffic jam - the movie immediately makes its musical intentions clear with a large scale set piece song and dance sequence featuring dozens of performers.
It is staged on a freeway on-ramp and courtesy of choreographer Mandy Moore's (no, not the singer) work seamlessly throws its many performers around impressively to great effect.
It also introduces us to the seasons of the year framing that the film uses with a title reading "WINTER" before putting us right alongside Ryan Gosling in his stationary vehicle and then into Emma Stone's car right in front of him.
A minor road rage incident occurs when Stone's Mia is too busy rehearsing lines to realise that traffic is moving and Gosling's Sebastian swerves around her angrily.
It will be the first of several encounters that the pair have in the early scenes.
 |
| Emma Stone as Mia |
It is genuinely magical stuff and Gosling and Stone can really sing and dance.
The first time that they perform it is overlooking the sparkling lights of the valley.
They make use of a park bench and some fancy tap moves and it is out and out adorable.
That it was preceded by a very funny scene in which Sebastian reluctantly performs in a party band playing bad versions of A-Ha's 'Take On Me" and A Flock of Seagulls 'I Ran" only adds to the whimsy and sweetness.
I loved the old fashioned sweetness of it all.
The film even opens with a CinemaScope logo in 4:3 ratio, scratchy black and white widening out into pristine colour widescreen.
It harkens back to the golden age of musicals.
 |
| Ryan Gosling as Sebastian |
There is a fair amount of "A Star Is Born" about the story being told.
As the romance progresses through the seasons each party has success and failure and the decisions that they make will change everything.
Director Chazelle keeps the tone just right even when things start to go bad.
Watching this movie made me realise that seeing Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone fight on screen is no fun at all.
It feels like the first time you see your own parents lock horns in disagreement!
The point of course is that fame and success change people.
The rocky stuff is offset by the many, many scenes of utterly brilliantly staged meetings, songs and dances staged in famous Los Angeles locations.
That both the sweet and the less sweet works as well as it does is a testament again to the effectiveness of the Stone/Gosling pairing.Stone in particular is amazing in this film and should get an Oscar nomination for her trouble.
The fact that her character is a struggling actress affords her a lot of moments in auditions to flex her acting muscle.
And Gosling spent hours a day for months practicing piano and the hard work pays off.
Scenes in which Sebastian is playing the piano are shot without the need to hide the work of a musician double - there wasn't one.
The level of proficiency that he reached is truly impressive.
 |
| The song and dance sequences are excellent and will win over even those who normally hate musicals |
It recalls old Hollywood where romance was PG rated and innocent and this is a welcome change from the normal raunchy stuff that we see on screen these days.
It is full of moments of magic from the Griffith Observatory scene in which Mia and Sebastian float weightlessly up into the star dome to the startlingly brilliant audition song that Mia performs.
It is interesting to note too that some of the terrible experiences that Mia has in auditions are based on recollections from both Stone and Gosling.
The latter really did have a woman take a phone call in the middle of a moving scene he was auditioning with.
It is hard to fault this film.
It comes at a time when we need this sort of film.
This is the first time that I have ever watched a musical not in dread of the next narrative busting interruption with a song but in anticipation.
Truly great.
No comments:
Post a Comment