Good film that was completely clouded by prejudice

Rating: 3/10 (26 January 2017)

This film was really enjoyable in many aspects and took a great opportunity to revive an older and forgotten genre, but in the process of modernising completely neglected to remove any racist overtones of the past. To create a film centred around a white man 'saving' jazz, a genre so deeply rooted in African American culture, seems so blindly ignorant that I am shocked it was created in 2016. While the spotlight focuses in on the white leads, they are surrounded by black people that are being turned into furniture in the background of their own culture. While John Legend performed well in a large role, he was cast as the one ruining jazz, by turning it into pop music, while Ryan Gosling is the hero that must maintain the rich traditions. That is not to mention the fact that Emma Stone's 'talent' in the film pales into insignificance, a mere afterthought, while the entire story line is centred around Gosling's own interests.
The film was engaging and managed to strike the difficult balance between drama and music well, but it missed a wonderful opportunity to *genuinely* modernise a lost genre. Instead, I was so distracted by the gross ignorance involved that I could not really enjoy it.