Very Well Made But Not My Kind Of Movie

Rating: 7/10 (17 January 2017)

Did someone say last year's Oscars were too white ? So let's award most of this year's Oscars to something that looks like an explosion in a paint factory where every primary colour is splashed across the screen . LA LA LAND was being touted as the film to beat even before most of the other contenders were announced and its domination at the Golden Globes confirmed everything . Looks like the 2017 Oscars will be the most predictable event of this year
Romantic musicals aren't my thing so my dread was realised in the opening scene with a California highway turning in to a song and dance scene so camp I thought I was watching a forest of pink tents which hints at what you're going to get - feelgood factor whether you want it or not . It was at this point I seriously considered giving up on the movie and going on youtube to listen to proper love songs by the likes of The The and Joy Division
As the film continued the narrative did expose itself to being what you expect , two young people , a man and a woman , who are embarking on fulfilling their careers in respectively jazz music and acting . There's not a lot here we haven't seen before but what sells this movie is the visual work director Damien Chazelle has put in to it . The language of cinema is very much to the fore especially the stunning cinematography and my abiding memory is the scene where the two protagonists meet and an impact aesthetic is instantly created by the way the lighting changes . Many scenes are similarity beautiful but if there's a fundamental problem remains that no matter how well made a film is if you've no interest in the genre then you won't become a convert . As it stands LA LA LAND will dominate the Oscars like the French film THE ARTIST did five years ago then become quickly forgotten