La La Land
Prior to watching the film, I knew little about it. Despite
being one of the biggest films of the year, it did not grab my interest enough and
I did not feel an urge to see the film immediately. I simply knew it was a
‘must watch’ and an Oscar contender. Perhaps my lack of knowledge, regarding
the film’s plot and narrative, created a mystery around it that attracted me, and
I finally gave it a chance. I had no formed expectations and I simply allowed
the film as well as its director to surprise me, to comfort me with its
elegance and magic that it offers. I have never been a fan of musicals, or
maybe I have seen the ‘wrong’ musicals, and that resulted in me branding the
genre as ‘cheesy’ and not relevant to life at all. I found musicals to be too theatrical
and exaggerated, however La La Land has proven me wrong as the story of the
film is told poetically and melodically.
The film begins innocently, the establishing shot welcomes
its audience to a sunny day in Los Angeles, the day is just beginning and the
traffic is building up... Suddenly, out of nowhere, the film comes alive!
Initially I thought ‘oh here we go’ I mean come on, who breaks out in a dance
and a sing song during a traffic (yes I like films to represent REAL life) but
I was simply mesmerised, and captivated. From the first scene, the audience are
able to see how hard the director worked to make this film into a masterpiece. I
rarely find myself concentrating solely on aspects such as editing and
cinematography in a film, of course cinematography is the most essential part
of the film, however I tend to examine a film and how certain aspects such as
sound, cinematography and overall mise en scene are combined rather than how
they are portrayed individually. However, the opening dance routine had me in
awe, it was swift and smooth, it was simply outstanding and I found myself
wondering, how the director along with the cameramen, managed to create such a
magnificent opening. The opening scene is dreamy and joyful, however despite my
misconception, it is not ‘cheesy’ or over the top at all. I must say that my
opinion regarding ‘feel good’ films is divided, on one hand, yes, I do want to
feel positive emotions while viewing a film, but on the other hand I want to
see real life, almost a mirror reflection of life and its issues, ambiguously
or in the form of a metaphor, it does not matter. What I ‘normally’ expect from
a film, is a journey full of joy, sorrow and passion that life has to
offer.
Despite my pre-existing inner bias, I fell in love with the
film right from the start. Everything about the film, right from the beginning,
suited my likes when it comes to cinema. It was rather refreshing to be able to
see a film that is modern, but yet took me back in time, to the era that made
me fall in love with films... The Golden Era of Hollywood... James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, oh I would give anything to be able to spend one day back in the 50s.It
is clear to see, that the director was paying homage to the classics with
continuous referencing to classical music, art and film. The film perfectly
manages to capture the ‘moment’ as it almost ‘freezes’ time, and as an audience,
we are taken back in time, the time where everything was possible if you believed
in it, the time where everyone wanted to make it to Hollywood! As expected, one
of the main themes in the film is the big ‘American Dream’, but a dream that is
not driven by money, but passions and love for the art of film, theatre and
music. The film beautifully portrays the desire to succeed and the misery of
failure, yes, one may argue that the film romanticises failure and success;
however it does the complete opposite as the director created an idyllic
atmosphere, that heavily contrasted the misery and sadness of failure, and this
helps the audience to understand how beautiful and painful life can be.
The film, and of course the director, uses all of its
resources to its full potential and advantage. La La Land takes its audience on
a journey of the most unexpected, a fairytale of love, passion and success. Often,
films which focus heavily on the aesthetics result in an imbalance of style
over content, however this is certainly not the case in La La Land; the film
emphasises the complexity of life, while at the same time, visually pleasing the
eye. The film is rich in symbolism that helps in creating an atmosphere, the
colour palette is also rich, bold and exquisite; the colours used within the
film aid to shift focus and produce emotions. The film is so aesthetically pleasing;
I must say that the beautifully fresh visuals overpower Gosling’s beauty... I
will admit, that a film which stars Ryan Gosling, is automatically sold to me.
However, it is not only his great looks that attract me, he is an amazing actor
and performer, he is versatile in his roles and manages to portray troubled
characters in films such as Blue Valentine and A Place Beyond the Pines, which
both I would really recommend, but Gosling fits perfectly into every role he
plays and the contracts between his roles is major, from playing an introvert
in Lars and the Real Girl, to playing a complex character in Drive, and a
wingman in Crazy, Stupid Love (one of my favourite rom coms). Despite the fact that I appreciate a film,
where the main focus is on of course Ryan Gosling, it was somewhat surprising
and refreshing to see Gosling a part of the film’s composition, and not the
whole focus. I was happily surprised to find out that Gosling, did in fact play
the piano in the film, as there was no CGI or body doubles used, he spent an
enormous amount of time learning to play each song and his dedication and hard
work certainly shines through in the film. I could talk in more detail about
Gosling’s performance (and just him in general ...), but I cannot ignore the
magnificent Emma Stone. She is simply made for the role, she is lovable, goofy,
she simply is a girl next door, she is rather likeable, and this helps the
audience to sympathise with her character in the film. The film tells a story
through melody, the melody of the sweet sound of Gosling’s piano, the melody of
the seasons, time and the exceptional performance of both characters. Emma
Stone’s performance was powerful, rich in emotion and authentic, as an audience
we feel the pain that she feels, the happiness that devours her, and the melancholy
and nostalgia of the moment.
The film beautifully combines the central themes of love for
one another, and the love and passion people have for art. The narrative of the
film arguably follows a ‘circle of life’ form. Gosling’s character describes
himself as a ‘phoenix rising from ashes’ meaning that not only is he driven to
preserve the tradition, he is also willing to combine modernism with classics.
It is possible to argue, that the director intentionally mocks modern society,
the audience are slowly and elegantly lulled into the world of dance, where
Gosling and Stone begin their innocent romance through a Jazzy dance, and then
suddenly, the beauty of the moment is interrupted by modernism, which in this
instance, is a phone ringing. As I proposed earlier, the director’s intention
is to show his audience how ignorant society has become; we ought to cherish
and appreciate the arts, but modern life simply gets in the way. Not only is La
La Land elegant, it is also an intelligent film, it may of course seem like a
‘feel good movie’ however, as the narrative progresses, we soon realise that
the story is complex and deep. The director of the film cleverly provokes an
emotional response within his audience, by manipulating the visuals of the film
as well as the sound. This is also symbolic, as it aims to show the audience
that words are not always needed to express emotion and also at times where
words fail, music can speak to us. Surprisingly, the two scenes that struck me
the most emotionally, were scenes where words were not spoken, but music was
played. The bar scene where Gosling ‘entertains’ the guest by monotonously
playing a Christmas song is rather significant, as it shows how strong the character’s passions and love for music really is, knowing he will get in
trouble, he gets carried away, he begins playing a melancholic melody; it is
important to point out the cinematography in this scene as suddenly the lights
go out, and the whole focus is shifted on Gosling and his piano, the moment is
intimate and mystical. Of course if you watched the film, you probably love the
scene where Stone walks into the apartment and finds her love sitting
nostalgically by the piano, she sits by him and their love is symbolised
through the music that he plays, and they both sing together. The scene is
simply dreamy, the whole film in fact takes its audience to another world, and
this is what makes a film great, as the audience escape their lives and for the
duration of the film, the outside world no longer matters, what matters is the
love of Gosling and Emma, their troubles, happiness and their inner drives in
life.
Overall, I must say that La La Land, is officially one of
the best films that I have seen in a long while. It is deep, rich in emotion
and authentically represents real life. Despite the captivating scenery, the
rich and deep colour palette and the sweet feel of the film, the film carries a
strong message. La La Land portrays two passionate people, coming from
different worlds, finding love, sacrificing many things for the greater good.
What I loved about the film the most, is not the portrayal of love and
happiness, but in fact, the portrayal of people like you and I, getting lost
and failing many times before they finally succeed. Even Gosling’s character, which
needs Jazz more than he needs air to breathe, got lost along the way, he too
almost gave up on his dream trying to conform and fit societal norms. I have
always been a strong believer that we do not choose our dreams, they in fact
choose us. Whenever I get asked ‘why film’ I simply say that I was born with
the love of film in me, I was born to not only watch films, but feel them,
devour them, take them apart and inject them into my bloodstream. Both Stone
and Gosling’s characters were born with that inner love, whether its Jazz or
acting, they were born to pursue their dreams. The film wonderfully portrays
‘love’ real love I must say. Despite the characters coming from two different worlds,
they fall in love with each other and each other’s passions, they support one another
and make sacrifices, and for me this is the true meaning of love. Once in a
lifetime we meet someone, who we were meant to meet and love, someone who
changes our life, however we do not always get the privilege of having them in
our lives forever, as of course this is life... There is no doubt that Stone’s
and Gosling’s character will always love each other; no matter where life takes
them, they will always be the ‘one’ for each other. Remembering the ending of
the film, makes me rather emotional, I easily sympathise with characters,
however the ending really struck me, it was so graceful, but bold and eye-opening,
and most of all, so true to life as everyone lives their lives with the ‘what
if’ questions sneaking up on them.
I would HIGHLY
recommend the film as it is simply extraordinary! I will go as far as saying
that the pioneers of the classics such as Hitchcock would be proud seeing young
directors having so much passion and respect for the art of the classics. The
beauty of the classics will always linger, but it’s up to us to preserve it and
immortalise it, or forget the beauty of it. I am beginning to feel like I have
overused the word ‘beautiful’ in this article, however there is no other way to
describe the emotions captured in this film! I have yet not seen this year’s
Academy Award winner Moonlight (it is the first film to see on my list) however,
I can honestly say that IF La La Land, was in fact the winner, then it would
truly deserve that title and recognition. For me personally, I feel like La La
Land was made for people like me, people who are somewhat different, following
their dreams (and often failing) I simply needed to see the film to reassure
myself, that if you were born to do something, then by all means you should do
it! It is simply wonderful to see young directors beholding so much respect for
the era that made Hollywood so great and opened many possibilities for the next
generation of filmmakers.
Anna Gaszkowska
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