Singing the Praises for La La Land!

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2019)

Damien Chazelle (director/producer/screenwriter) is the brilliant director to his second major success. After his previous award-winning movie whiplash, he directed La La Land. This movie is about two people living in Los Angeles California trying to achieve their dreams. The first character we are introduced to is Mia (Emma Stone) who has loved acting her entire life, she writes her own one-act play with hopes to become a successful actress. While the second main character Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) who is in love with jazz music is trying to open a Jazz club. After their random encounters, they fall into a stunning romance full of song and dance.
La La Land a musical like no other. Director Damien Chazelle uses the movie's beautiful music in a way that you don't see every day. The music is used to further the characters not just the plot of the movie. In Musicals like The Greatest Showmen, the music is used to tell what they are doing not who they are. You learn more about Mia through her song called someone in the crowd. This song not only shows what is happening in her life but also the life people have as a struggling artist. While the music was amazing the movie also had subtlety wonderful costumes. The entire movie stuck with minimal patterns on the clothes with vibrant colors to make the actors pop! In the first dance song that Mia was in, she was wearing a bright blue next to all her friends wearing equally bright clothes. This just makes the audience feel as though they are with the characters in sunny California. In scenes where Chazelle wanted to send a message, he would dim out all the lights having a sole spotlight on the character. This created a contrast to the brightness of the characters emphasizing the character's intense emotions. The characters Mia and Sebastian were played beautifully by Stone and Gosling. They had previously played in two movies together and in La La Land you can see why their on-stage chemistry is evident. Not only can they act they can also sing and dance, which is an amazing combo to have. As amazing at the actors are they didn't have the script to fulfill their endless potential. We learn very little about Mia's actual life when she is writing and performing her one-act play there is no detail on the process it took to make the play or the people who helped. And when Mia goes into an audition she is asked to tell a story, but she tells one about her life, not her aunt. The character Mia is amazing she would be even more amazing with a history. The scene itself was beautifully done. They do a complete pan shot around Stone as she sings a beautiful story about her aunt. The turning pan shot represents the major turning point in the movie. La La Land made the movie similar to older movies. There's dancing around lamp posts and doing everything they can to achieve their dreams.
La La Land truly is one of Damien Chazelle's best movies. This movie is one for the record books. It's about achieving your dream no matter the cost. It's a symphony of music love and color. La La Land is a musical has one of the best soundtracks out there. This movie makes you feel in sunny California with the marvelous character Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling).