Charming and, yes, magical

Rating: Null/10 (22 December 2016)

Oh yeah, the backlash is going to be huge with this one. Especially when it's up against more "important" films like Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea. I definitely had problems with the film. I found its main themes and conflicts to be quite unoriginal. I also thought the screenplay at times didn't know where to go and was only really at its strength when it was building moments and scenarios for the songs. In that respect the film isn't unlike Whiplash, which also had a screenplay that was its biggest weakness. Unlike that film though, I think the screenplay is definitely more than adequate enough for building this world around the characters. I can imagine many people taking heat for preferring this film over many of the other Oscar contenders. I can see criticisms of it being too "basic" and too "simple". On a pure filmmaking level, the film is gorgeous and so brilliantly-made, but I also think the two leads do a great job of building that emotional connection. Is the film complex? Not particularly, and that's going to be part of the backlash. Does it need to be? Not really, no. Only because it isn't complex doesn't mean that it's not a film worthy of praise for everything it accomplishes. I think it's easy to look past how utterly charming and magical it honestly is. I definitely had problems with it throughout but it wasn't until the last several minutes where all of my problems sort of dissipated, concluding in the final minute that made me more emotional than all other films I've seen this year aside from Moonlight's final scenes. It was at this moment where I realized how much I enjoyed it and how much of a connection I formed with the characters. I feel because of this, because it's not about particularly thought-provoking or cerebral themes and because it basically succeeds or fails on one's own personal experience watching it (all films do, but many of them don't highlight the personal subjectivity as much as this one) it's going to receive a lot of backlash. But what the film did make me appreciate and realize more is that we shouldn't take the little moments, specific moments in our everyday lives, for granted. No other film this year has taught me to become more mindful of the moment and to enjoy the present. In that respect, it's escapism at its most effective. For that the film should be celebrated and for that I deeply admire what it did. Is it my favorite film of the year? No. Will I be as enamored with it in the future? Perhaps not as much as now. But what an experience it surely was. But now having said all of that, do I think it's a particularly "great" film? Not really sure.
To now more specifically talk about the performances... Emma Stone is just an incredibly charismatic and charming actress. It's not a very dramatic role, but it doesn't need to be. I definitely do have a hard time seeing her win the Oscar though. Ryan Gosling is good and also has some of the same charm, but he suffers here from what I believe he has suffered in many of his films the last few years. He has a certain "too cool for school" persona that gets infused into all of his performances. It works for certain roles (like Drive) but I honestly can't help but feel what another actor could have brought to the table. I think he's at his best playing alongside Stone, but his individual performance? Not really sure it should be up for any award nominations personally.