This isn’t the first time thirty-six-year-old Ryan Gosling and twenty-eight-year-old Emma Stone have played on-screen lovers (“Gangster Squad,” “Crazy Stupid Love”), nor is it the first time thirty-one-year-old Damien Chazelle wrote and directed an electrifying feature film about an artist’s drive to perform onstage (Academy Award-winning “Whiplash”). Put them all together, and here we have one of the most feverishly loved films of the year– “La La Land,” an infectiously romantic modern-day musical that will sing and dance its way into your heart.
Like a lot of aspiring actresses, Mia (Emma Stone) has moved to LA to make it big, living with three roommates in a cramped apartment and only works as a barista on the Warner Brothers studio lot so she is within running distance to her less than glamorous auditions. It’s here where self-important casting directors and waiting rooms filled with girls who look just like Mia leave her with broken spirits day in and day out. That is, until a lonely night’s walk leads her to a dark, divey restaurant where the most beautiful piano music is playing inside. As she attempts to pay the pianist a compliment, he literally bumps right past her, both unaware that these soon-to-be star-crossed lovers will meet again, and soon.
The mystery man behind the piano is Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), an old-school jazz pianist who, when he’s not playing music, obsesses over its history and laments its fading from modern culture (Gosling impressively was in piano lessons six days a week for months in preparation for the role). After running into each other at an LA party, Sebastian and Mia are drawn closer after discovering that each is as artistically unfulfilled as the other, but both sharing lofty dreams: hers of putting on that one-woman show and his of opening that Jazz club. But “La La Land” side-steps from the classic Hollywood story when the modern practicalities and realities set in– when sacrifices are to be made, will they be there to support their partner, or do what is necessary to achieve their own dreams?
With their undeniable on-screen chemistry, the casting of Gosling and Stone feel like this generation’s Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The two draw on their own unique musical experiences, Stone having recently wrapped up a three-month-long stint on Broadway as Sally Bowles in “Cabaret,” and Gosling having crooned for his rock band side-project Dead Man’s Bones. Director Damien Chazelle inherited his penchant for Jazz from his father, continuing his love of classical music at Princeton High School (he played the jazz drums) and later Harvard.
The storyline and sweeping dance sequences feel timeless, a classic homage to the great musicals of old Hollywood like “Singin’ in the Rain,” yet the mix of contemporary additions, like running Prius jokes and iPhone interruptions, keep the film’s playful energy up and the fun at an all-time high. Although the songs themselves aren’t necessarily as lyrically catchy as a traditional musical, composer Justin Hurwitz creates beautiful big studio melodies that accompany the lovely throwback visuals we see onscreen.
The polished and slick camera movements add to the jazzy, up-tempo energy of the film itself, framing the song and dance scenes wonderfully. From capturing a large and colorful dance ensemble on a freeway overpass in the film’s opening number to a singular shot of Sebastian sitting in the spotlight alone at a piano, cinematographer Linus Sandgren brings the appropriate amount of visceral energy to every moment. The dramatic lighting allows for the audience to get lost in the story, and is a phenomenal touch to the film’s theatrical cohesiveness. Plus, the decision to shoot on film also adds to the overall sense of spontaneity; not being able to immediately play back the day’s takes, like one could if shooting digitally, demands a certain level of trust in the film’s crew, much like how jazz musicians quickly learn how to trust each other while playing.
There is a line from the film that has stuck with me, even to this day, “To be a revolutionary, you can’t be a traditionalist.” This seems to speak to Chazelle’s own moviemaking journey and his fervent passion to bring darkly moving musical-based films to the big screen. “La La Land” is a throwback film that celebrates the way movies were made and the feelings that came with them, while simultaneously infusing that nostalgia into a glamorized modern Hollywood romance. For all these reasons, “La La Land” is pure magic and one of the year’s best.
“La La Land” is rated PG-13 for some language. 128 minutes. Opening in select theaters Friday, December 9th.
