La La Land

The ad campaign for this film was extensive and it was helped by all the buzz from critics. I bought into all the hype and wasn't let down by "La La Land". What made me even happier was that the film was just as good if not better in IMAX the second time. I also saw "La La Land" in concert the following year and that was equally special. The making of this movie is almost as inspirational as the script itself. In many ways, the story of how this film came to be mirrors the story of Sebastian and Mia. To quote the latter character: "People love what other people are passionate about." I find that when filmmakers make personal projects, the subsequent film is very successful because audiences subconsciously sense the labor of love that was undertaken. What we have in "La La Land" is a combination of modern day cinema with the Golden Age of Hollywood and that was apparent the first time I saw this movie. I could tell for example that there were visual references to "Singin' in the Rain" as I watched this show. The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone is very strong and many of the songs are beautiful. All of the cinematic elements have their shinning moments but what is important is that never at any time do they outshine the story. Some say "La La Land" is a winner while others say it was involved in one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history. I say both.

This film came along at just the right time for me personally. I saw it in January, which historically for me is a month of change. In first part of 2017, I felt I had been stuck in my mundane job for nearly ten years and I was still looking for my big break. I was living through a recession with no signs that things in the economy were going to pick up any time soon. My attempts to find a roommate in order to afford my rent were futile. As "La La Land" began to introduce the main characters, I was able to perfectly relate to both Sebastian and Mia because I am in the film and entertainment industry as well. As mentioned, there is an amazing balance between the realistic and the surreal style of filmmaking. At times, the film behaves much like any romantic drama produced in the 21st Century. At other moments, such as during a musical number, we feel we are watching something from the 1940's, 50's or even 60's. This clash of techniques can fail if not properly executed and at times in this show, that contrast can be felt. Because of this contrast, "La La Land" is self-reverential because you are reminded at moments that you are watching a movie but it doesn’t last long. You are able to accept this however because you are being caught up in the story being told. The opening musical number and scene, "Another Day of Sun", quite successfully establishes the style of movie we are about to watch. It is quite a complicated scene with an amazing use of cinematography. The scene may appear to be filmed in one long shot but I could spot a few hidden cuts. They were so perfect though that I couldn't tell how they were done. I could only identify when the cuts happened. The filmmakers closed down a whole exit ramp for that scene for three days and had to perform that dance number 100 feet above ground level. I have used that interchange before when I visited L.A. and it is also featured in "Speed" in a very memorable scene. At one point during the dance number, I think I saw a bunch of dancers on the concrete ledges so that is scary to think about. The second musical number, " Someone in the Crowd", is likewise complicated in its cinematography and choreography because of the enclosed space in which it is performed. In between these performances, the exposition and the sincerity of its delivery is good. I love how Mia walks past the mural on the street wall showing the famous movie stars because the camera is perpendicular to the wall as it follows Mia. The shot represents her ambitions and this comes just before she hears Sebastian's piano playing. Unlike the other numbers already mentioned, "A Lovely Night" is filmed all in one shot and that was cool. The argument scene is well set up because Sebastian joins The Messengers after overhearing Mia on the phone with her parents, defending him in his struggle to find full time employment. When she goes to a performance of The Messengers, she can tell that it's not the kind of music he likes or is passionate about. When Sebastian can't make it to Mia's one-woman play, it brings to the surface a few more hurdles in their relationship. Sebastian gives up his dream for Mia and Mia follows Sebastian's advice that seemingly backfires on her in that barely anyone came to see her new play. I am grateful for the Epilogue where we see what could have happened. This is yet another instance where some realism is present but it is played against a cliché Hollywood ending. The film does conclude on a somewhat sad note but the Epilogue does raise our spirits somewhat to help with that. I have heard many people say that they do not like the ending because the two characters did not end up together. When I point out the happy epilogue montage, they say "That wasn't real. It was a fantasy sequence". To that, I respond: "It is a movie; the whole thing isn't real."

The scene when Sebastian takes Mia to a jazz club is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, the opening shots of that scene are edited rhythmically in a quick pace. It gets our attention. Secondly, this scene sets up the dramatic scene where Mia hears the jazz music while on a double date. Mia mentioned earlier that her experience of jazz is elevator music. Because of her scene in the club, the jazz music playing in the background during her dinner becomes louder as she begins to appreciate it. Eventually, it is the only thing she can hear. Finally and more importantly, Sebastian's explanation of how jazz works is a metaphor for filmmaking. The jazz players work together and compete for attention at the same time. By doing so, they accomplish something special and entertaining as long as they remain in harmony and in rhythm. That is symbolic of the film itself and all the elements used to bring it to life. Like harmony and rhythm, the most important aspect in filmmaking for me is the story. Certain cinematic elements get their chances to shine and stand out such as the special effects during Planetarium scene and the lighting in multiple musical numbers. Even during these scenes, the various cinematic aspects are still in support of the story. During the songs "A Lovely Night" and "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" for example, the lyrics are moving the story forward. Flaws occur in a film when one or multiple cinematic elements have a "solo" for the majority of the movie and distract us from the story. When filmmakers make this mistake, the creation of the story doesn't get the attention it needs to succeed. This was the case with such movies as "Life of Pi" with its special effects and "The Iron Lady" with the performance of Meryl Streep. As good as those cinematic elements were, they did not support the story as much as they should have.

The story of the making of this film needs to be mentioned because it mirrors the story of the film itself. "La La Land" was written when director/writer Damien Chazelle was in Sebastian's shoes. At first, Hollywood didn't want to produce any musical as original as his and the fact that it was a jazz musical didn't help. Studios wanted a happier ending and other changes made but Chazelle wouldn't give in. Then came his critically successful film "Whiplash", which earned him an Oscar nomination for his screenplay. As you might expect, studios began to show interest in his passion project and it is Chazelle's passion that convinced Emma Stone to play Mia. Stone saw this kind of story reminiscent of something that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers might do. I first saw Stone in "The Help" and her performance in "La La Land" is just as good. Some of her real life experiences of trying to get acting gigs were incorporated into the film. You might think I am referring to the scene where someone bursts into the room interrupting Mia’s dramatic audition but that actually came from an experience of Ryan Gosling's. The only other film I have seen of Gosling's is "Remember the Titans". Unlike some instances where I discover that a famous actor began his career in a favorite film of mine, I have never forgotten that Gosling was in that Disney show. It was neat to follow him over the years from a supporting actor to Hollywood stardom, despite not seeing any of his other films until "La La Land". This is the third movie with Gosling and Stone working together so the chemistry was somewhat there already. Every scene they had together was mesmerizing. Singer and Oscar-winning songwriter John Legend plays Keith and that provided some verisimilitude. J. K. Simmons was in "Whiplash" and won an Oscar for it so we may see him in many more Chazelle films to come. I loved Simmons' final moment in the film. Josh Pence (from "The Social Network") was Greg's brother by the way.

Another fact that shows Chazelle's passion for this film is that it took almost a year to edit "La La Land" because he and his editor had to get the movie's tone just right. The first film I ever saw of Chazelle's was "10 Cloverfield Lane" (he was one of the writers) but I will count "La La Land" as my introduction to his work. It is worth a lot of the hype. Composer Justin Hurwitz was involved in this project from inception because he and Chazelle were college roommates. In fact, the music for the songs was written before the lyrics and that is quite uncommon. I love how the score was recorded in the same recording stage used for "The Wizard of Oz", "Singin' in the Rain" and more recently "Toy Story". This film swept the Golden Globes winning every award it was nominated for including Best Song ("City of Stars"), Best Original Score and Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture. Chazelle won Best Screenplay and Best Director while Gosling and Stone won Best Actor and Actress respectively for a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture (Emma Stone also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress by the way). That many wins at the Golden Globes is very impressive and a record but it is nothing compared to the record number of Oscar nominations it garnished. It tied "All About Eve" and "Titanic" with a record 14 nominations (both of those other films by the way went on to win Best Picture). I believe self-glorification was contributing factor in "Argo" winning Best Picture at the Oscars in 2013 and I, along with most of the world, was betting the same thing would happen in the case of "La La Land". It was not just a contender for the ultimate prize in filmmaking but a serious contender. I wanted Ryan Gosling to win his first Oscar but I knew it wouldn't be this time around. I also knew that "La La Land" would lose in the sound editing catagory but I had falsely predicted it would win Best Sound Mixing. I also predicted a win in the Original Screenplay and Film Editing catagories but was wrong as well. "La La Land" also lost Best Costume Design. Those loses at the 2017 Oscars were not as bad as what happened at the end of the ceremony and I am not talking about the mix-up with the envelopes. That was just two minutes and three acceptance speeches worth of salt on a large wound. I would hope that the Academy did not snub "La La Land" for Best Picture in order to stand on a soapbox. Considering the amount of political statements in the ceremony though, my hope is more like a dream. I do think that "La La Land" in the course of history will join such films as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Fargo" for having been denied the prize they righfully deserved. For me, "La La Land" will always be my Best Picture. I purchased it on Blu-ray partially to send a message, a monetary one. The film won the most Oscars that night afterall: Best Director, Actress, Production Design, Musical Score, Song and Cinematography. I am so happy that Chazelle became the youngest director ever to win in that catagory. "La La Land" actually had two songs nominated for Oscars, "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" and "City of Stars", with the award going to the latter as might be expected. Chazelle and Hurwitz started as roommates and became Oscar winners by means of the same passion project. That is so inspiring.

The music, cinematography, acting, writing, directing and so forth all work together very harmoniously in this movie. Not only is "La La Land" self-referential but also is a self-glorification of Hollywood. This is probably a reason why there was anticipation for the release of this film. When you hear what it took for Chazelle to get this film made, the show becomes all the more powerful. It is even good if you don't know the backstory because the passion put into producing the movie comes across intuitively. "La La Land", much like the Oscar winning film "The Artist", is a great film to help today's moviegoers appreciate old-fashioned Hollywood films.

4 out of 5 Stars