The film is about a pianist and an actress who hope to fulfill their dreams through hard work in a modern-day setting.

Rating: 10/10 (25 September 2017)

"I'm letting life hit me until it gets tired. Then I'll hit back. It's a classic rope-a-dope." Spoken like a master of perseverance. The film La La Land took some time for me to understand that the film was more than just a musical. The opening scene with the cars on the highways reminded me that the movie was a musical with creativity. But as the movie progressed I got to see some great character development through not only the music but the dialogue and the environment the characters were in. The emotions the film gave me not only were saddening but influenced me to stick to my dreams to the very end.
The film is about a pianist and an actress who hope to fulfill their dreams through hard work in a modern-day setting. Through their long journey in the stunning city of Hollywood, California, they meet each other and find love in both their support for each other and the bond that is created. I think the film's plot is very realistic with the characters having up and downs and trying find purpose in the mystery of life. La La Land can be described as a piano with many keys because there are so many elements that make this film great.
The character development is what makes this film memorable and authentic. At first sight, we see the two main characters on a highway was of chaos, with no intentions of meeting anyone. Then we start to learn who Mia and Sebastian are? As the movie goes on we eventually learn that although they have many differences, they both have the same dream of persevering through their hardships to get what they want. Mia's example of this can be seen when she gets some of her earlier call backs for acting. In each call back scene, we see she is set back multiple times however through her endurance she got the acting job. Sebastian does this by finally opening his dream club for authentic Jazz listeners and players. Another thing they share is understanding that sometimes to achieve your goal you just need a little push from someone else. Both characters kept one another on the path to their dreams. Sebastian made sure Mia went to her big call back about her story while Mia made sure Sebastian didn't sell himself out for what other people wanted. I think this is what really drives the film to have great characters development.
One strong element the film use of colors. The colors are unrealistically bright and serve a great purpose in the plot. For example, When Mia and Sebastian are arguing about their two contrasting ideas on how they should deal with what they want. We see two complementary which help in creating a visible tension among the two characters. Each color is a separate being with its own ideas. I think the director distinctively uses colors is to acknowledge that colors can be mixed to create a new color or relative to what the movie is about, two different dream can create something extraordinary.
The end scene was incredible and made me a little emotional. It allowed me to understand what La La Land was all about. It revealed that this movie is about understanding that each path you take in life will have its own rewards and setbacks but once you make those decisions there are no do-overs. So, you should make the best out of the decisions you make. The character Mia really encourages this idea when she has the dream of her and Sebastian living life together when she sees him in the Jazz club at the end of the film. I start to want their fantasy to become reality but then realize that even though it seems like the right thing to do according to the plot, I understand that they are both happy and content with the decisions. Henceforth, gives the film the name La La Land. Understanding that we must be happy in the real world and not dwell in the fantasy we wish was real.