A nice experiment...though I wasn't exactly captivated by it.

Rating: 7/10 (11 November 2018)

"La La Land" made quite a splash after it debuted. It's now on IMDB's Top 250 and received 6 Oscars! But, with all that publicity, it might just leave you feeling like me...that's it is a decent film, but hardly a great film.
The story is of two struggling artists...one an actress (Emma Stone) and another a jazz musician (Ryan Gosling). Each appears ready to give up their beloved craft after years of disappointments and bills....and that is when they both meet and fall in love. Ultimately, however, their careers DO take off and this leads you to wonder if they can make it TOGETHER. After all, being a famous actress or musician isn't exactly part-time work!
In many ways, this film reminds me of the ending in "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg". This sort of downbeat ending didn't really bother me...it was realistic. But somehow "La La Land" muddled it all up...and left you with a confusing ending that PROBABLY was like "Umbrellas"...but maybe wasn't. I found this to be a huge problem. Aside from this, I also was not a huge fan of the characters...though I must admit it DID leave me misty-eyed more than a few times. Well worth seeing...but a film that isn't perfect...and you'd expect a six Oscar film to be absolutely perfect.