Not the masterpiece everyone is making it out to be

Rating: 8/10 (16 January 2017)

"La La Land" is above all an experiment in filmmaking just as "The Artist" was: to see if modern audiences can accept a bygone style of movies in today's world. It's exciting to see that it works (based on the box office success of "La La" and the surge of Oscars for "Artist"). There are no cheats, there are no plot twists or modern devices to twist the audience's arm. This is a musical that is unapologetically saccharine and delivers as a crowning achievement of the year, even if it doesn't always live up to the insurmountable hype behind it.
This is Damien Chazelle's second major feature as writer/ director after his unbelievable debut with "Whiplash" (winner of 3 Oscars and maybe the best movie I've seen since beginning reviews for this website). The buzz behind this film was undeniable, and I know the pressure on Chazelle was great. In an industry of remakes and reboots galore, and despite my few issues with the film, I still think he is a filmmaker above all else. As Oliver Stone so perfectly described it: "I have seen the future of filmmaking and his name is Damien Chazelle."
La La Land is the romanticism of Los Angeles and Hollywood, and the story is aptly simple. Two people try to make a name for themselves amidst rejections galore. Mia (Emma Stone) likens herself as a great actress and yet can't get out of her part time job as a barista. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) has a dream of opening a jazz club and reinvigorating the musical scene in the city. Through fate and circumstance these two run into each other more often than one might expect, and as luck would have it they fall in love.
As grand of a scope as the film is, it's essentially about these two people and the connection they share. SAG notably 'snubbed' the movie of an ensemble nomination, but thinking back on the story I can't even recall the side characters who occasionally dropped in. Both Stone and Gosling carry the film with humor and charm, a throwback to the simple storytelling of classic MGM musicals, and they sing to boot (live on set, too).
Yes, this is a musical. Not a gritty reboot of the genre as "Moulin Rouge!" was, or one driven by sex and jazz like "Chicago," or an adaptation of Broadway like "Les Mis." This is a pure, original story with original music in all its candy-color CinemaScope shots and costumes. I can't think of a movie quite like it, so creative and risky to fund. It's like "Singin In The Rain" or "American in Paris" and has the tone of those movies, too. The musical numbers themselves are each filmed in one long take (a popular trend after movies like "Birdman") and are mesmerizing to watch. The opening song has a moving camera across a busy highway complete with traffic. How they filmed it I will never know. Another song shows Mia and Sebastian tap dancing over a cityscape as the sun is about to set. I would have to assume it's computer generated but would believe otherwise- I'm sure they had no more than 5 minutes to film the entire scene before losing light.
There are a lot of themes at work, and a lot of the same ideas that "Whiplash" previously explored: jazz, dreams, failure... the two films, as different to ally as they are, work to compliment each other and are the beginnings of a repertoire that only could be described as "Chazelle-ian." The movie isn't all fun and games, and the final 20 minutes are full of deep melancholy and regret. I admired the film all the more for its conclusion, but still felt the ever-present fact that in following the style of a classic MGM musical, it's very predictable. I loved "Whiplash" for its unique voice and style. The style is still there, but there's only so much a script can do that is bound by rules and guidelines. The final exchange of glances between Mia and Sebastian and the last moments of the film are most certainly a reference to the finale of "Casablanca." Even if the ending isn't what we had hoped, their look says it all. "We'll always have Paris."
Go see this film if only because there is nothing else like it. I doubt anything will ever come out again like it. Go for the filmmaking and admire the year's best cinematography (a scene in a movie theater in which Emma Stone is illuminated by projection light is unquestionably beautiful, and the recreations of the green silhouette from "Vertigo" is jaw- dropping and unexpected). If you are looking for the year's best movie I don't know if this is it. Regardless, it's damn good.