City of Stars, are you shining just for me?

Rating: 9/10 (26 December 2016)

Right from its stunning opening sequence 'La La Land' is a joyous ode to the musicals of old. They don't make movies like this any more, except writer/director Damien Chazelle just did! Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone play likable star-crossed lovers, artists struggling in that most LA of enterprises - the elusive Dream of Stardom. Los Angeles is the third central character in the film, portrayed as a city of murals, painted in primary colors, an Edward Hopper print come to life. Not since 'LA Story' has the city come to life so vividly. 'La La Land' engages in dialogue with other movies either explicitly, such as 'Rebel Without a Cause', or implicitly, such as in 'An American in Paris'. This is the light side of Lynch's 'Mullholand Drive' which also features an aspiring actress whose excruciating auditions are shown in close up. Rhapsodic, nostalgic, giddy, 'La La Land' was a huge risk that paid off through its execution and style. The camera gently lilts and tilts across the California landscape, elevating story through screen language. The LA sun casts a golden haze over the aspirations of its protagonists in a world where pavements are lined with broken dreams and success is just a phone call away. It is Gosling and Stone who carry the film, Chazelle who exalts it into the constellation of stellar cinematic turns. Highly recommended.