A film of a promising concept and exciting potential that was poorly executed

Rating: 3/10 (30 January 2017)

What's bringing this film praise and attention is how this type of movie has not been created in recent years. But beyond this fact lies the qualities of a great movie that were just not present.
Sacrificed plot line, superficial, weak casting, obvious techniques, convoluted range of styles and random classic film references.
Casting: Come on! Emma Stone is no Debbie Reynolds. Neither Stone nor Gosling are dancers. Which means they would've had to learn how to for the role. Albeit it was not a disaster but it was certainly not memorable, which it be should for a 14 Oscar nominated musical. Musical. Remember JK Simmons from Whiplash (2014)? Was his role in La La Land a cameo? Not quite, but it was an absolute waste.
Protagonists: I thought (seeing from the trailer) Sebastian was going to be the energetic, doesn't-care-about-the-rules-just-cares-about the-passion kind of guy who encourages Mia, which he is at the beginning of the film. However this attitude fades and the reason wasn't made clear enough (miscommunication between Mia and Seb). Halfway through the film, we never see his passion anymore. Inconsistency? Growth? But from what?
Everyone else: Either the director was deeply trying to focus on just Mia and Sebastian or all the other characters in the film were swept aside equivalents to NPC's from The Sim's.
Dancing: Was not abundant nor top notch. Revolved around head turns and fancy running.
Soundtrack: The best component of the movie; I love nothing more than Mia and Sebastian's 'Epilogue' theme. Every other official theme of the film was also absolute brilliance; simple, dreamy, elegant, sincere, potentially iconic. Was also a beautiful motif.
Plot line: Between predictable and difficult to recall. Predictable due to it's romantic genre, difficult to recall because it was overshadowed by the film's aesthetic focus. Sebastian's scene where he sang "City of Stars" - a 4-5 minute scene of just him singing on the pier - had no meaning and said nothing about anyone or anything (great song though). About half way - 2/3 into the film, all excitement was lost and I was bored. Boredom peaked at Mia's audition where she spoke about her aunt. All in all, not memorable nor something someone would compliment the film on (excluding it's twist ending).
Twist Ending: The "what could have been" sequence was truly emotionally significant, honest and genuinely bittersweet.
Moral: I was impressed by how intensely the film focused on the reality of stardom in theater and the arts - even down to the nuances of rejection - when Mia's audition is rudely interrupted by a casting director wanting a sandwich - it truly touches the core of how quietly brutal it is to receive nothing after giving it your all, in complete vulnerability. Which is why I was disappointed when the writers abandoned this message nearing the end by slapping on a "Five Years Later" time skip, giving Mia the life of a successful movie star, Sebastian his Jazz Club, to dwindle the moral of the film to something like "love doesn't go the way you imagined it would." Because romance is everything.
Film Techniques: Effectively supported the popping visuals of the film. However at times, purposely or not, it didn't deliver what was comfortable for audiences. A full body shot that dragged on, never cutting closer to the actor's face; a close up of the actor's face for too uncomfortably long. The use of crescendos cutting to black were over used (became annoying). See when Whiplash (2014) used this for it's sudden ending? That was perfect and it was the only time it happened. The main tune motif was almost over used. See when Sebastian plays that tune at the end when he spots Mia in the crowd for the first time after 5 years? That was a perfect use of it. Can't say the same in all the other insignificant parts when it came up.
Motifs: Library, honking horn, main tune - awesome, clever.
Visual Effects: The cloud scene was awkward to watch, worst part of the film. Scenes where reality turned abstract became too obvious, sudden lighting changes (which were okay but then it happened too often), characters sweeping across settings etc.
Design: Spectacular retro feeling, yet is clearly set in the present day therefore the 20th century car models and primary colour dresses were too clearly contrived (unless we just happen to be viewing the lives of a minority population stuck/obsessed with the 60's)
John Legend's appearance: ???
Verdict: Overrated. This film had a lot of potential. It was an exciting concept. Films like this don't exist anymore. But in truth it was flawed and overall weak. However kudos to the hard work put into orchestrating and capturing mass choreographed dances in single shots. Truly visually stunning, great film techniques, successfully immerses audiences into it's dream-like world. Intensely honest look at the reality of love and artistic career paths. Original soundtrack - deserves the praise;
In every other area, it could have been more.