Yeah, more like Blah Blah Land amirite?

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2016)

It's actually a bit shocking to see Damien Chazelle produce this masterpiece after having directed Whiplash, which is arguably the best film of 2014. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if most audiences having watched La La Land feel that Gazelle's latest work is once again the best of the year.
It's perhaps redundant to say so, but like Whiplash La La Land is musically intensive, the difference being that, while Whiplash was a grounded real world narrative centered around music, La La Land is more so a musical in the classic sense. Scenes taking place in a grounded narrative transition seamlessly into elaborately choreographed song and dance numbers which are a far cry from the intense jazz drama of Whiplash, though jazz is prevalent in the score for this film.
The great thing about this film being so dramatically and stylistically different from Whiplash is that Chazelle takes full advantage of the format to elevate his musical far above its peers. From the opening shot it's evident that every song and dance number has been carefully blocked and rehearsed, resulting in the camera effortlessly navigating the halls and roadways of every scene and allowing the audience to fully soak in the talent on screen.
To speak of the talent on screen, it's needless to say that all performances meet the standard of excellence that Chazelle set for himself and his actors during Whiplash. Though the bouncy and fast paced tone doesn't always allow for the most profound character depth, the emotions and nuances of those characters are on full display with each song, dance, and montage.
As far as those songs dances and montages are concerned, that is perhaps where objectivity gets muddled for me. While I enjoyed the music in this film greatly, and appreciate the subtle variations on what seems to be the "main theme" I am fairly ignorant where music theory is concerned. I honestly love the music in this film and would say that it's great, but someone who is better versed in the field may have a different perspective. The point is that if you don't like the music or don't think it's good then I'm not sure what to say. I think it's great, but maybe it would be more appropriate to say that I really liked it.
The reason I liked the music, beyond it being pleasurable to listen to is that it was utilized perfectly to emphasize the tone of every scene and give context to the emotional state of the characters. The "main theme" is repeated several times, to the point where some might be irritated with it's prevalence in the film. That theme however changes subtly for each appearance creates different meanings for the characters and their relationships depending on those subtle changes.
This film is an absolute masterpiece, and arguably surpasses Whiplash. Hopefully in the near future Chazelle returns with yet another masterpiece to rival his latest.