A Retro-Musical with Contemporary setup

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2016)

I went to watch this film without any expectation and knowledge of the film, all I knew that it is a musical and is directed by Damien Chazelle, I loved Whiplash and that is the only reason I went to watch this film I am not a fan of musicals, in fact this is the first musical I watched. La La Land starts with a song and a very retro set-up, this reflects in the whole movie later. The movie is a romantic one but not a love-story, it revolves around two main characters, Sebastian, an aspiring jazz musician who loves old Jazz style and in do not like how people are moving away from it, letting it die, and Mia, a struggling actress who grew up watching old Hollywood movies and have always fantasize about being an actress. These are the only two characters we see in the whole film, JK Simmons have the 3rd highest screen time that also last for around 5 minutes in two shorts. This can seem weird but it is not actually, because in this way the director has a lot of time and space for the main characters to tell their story, how they meet, how their relationship starts and what happens next, which is important for a romantic film. Both the characters are very well defined and Damien Chazelle have explained each of their back story and completed the set-up in first 20 minutes or so of the film (not sure about the actual timing, this is what I felt). As the film progresses we get to see that their struggle in the city of Hollywood. This films tell story of two lovers who understand, support and help each other in achieving them their dreams, something which we all desire but difficult to find, however in the end they did not end-up together that show the harsh reality that you might not get everything that you desire or to put it in a better way that things don't work-out the way we want. The set design, costume and lighting are extraordinarily well, they give the film a 60s film look, this I loved the most about the film; it is feast for eyes to watch the set-up of old glorious Hollywood musicals. The costume add to this, Ryan Gosling wearing suits is very nice, part because the old Jazz players used to wear but also give the movies the old look, same goes with Emma Stone, they gave her similar retro style dress, colors of their dress were in contrast just likes their characters. Lighting was used in an exceptional way; I have not seen such a brilliant in recent past, Damien Chazelle used lighting to bring the actor in and out of focus in the shots blew my mind, as it is such a simple technique yet so effective. There is no need to say who good the music was, Justin Hurwitz out did himself. Damien Chazelle is as good writer as he is a director, the story and screenplay is overwhelmingly good. The movie contains a lot of long single take shots, I personally love those as the keep the continuity of the film and as the scene progresses you see the thing unfolding. There could not have been a better couple playing these roles than Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone both the actors have proved themselves in the industry and have delivered what was expected of them. Overall this is a must watch and going to be big winner in this year's award season. Each and every minute of the film is enjoyable.