This is going to be a classic

Rating: Null/10 (27 January 2017)

I have very wide tastes in cinema, but I generally avoid two genres: musicals and horror. However, I was always going to make an exception for "La La Land" following the vibes from the festivals and indeed, by the time I caught up with the movie, it had already been nominated for no less than 14 Academy Awards, putting it up there with other record-holders "All About Eve" (1950) and "Titantic" (1997).
Among massive support, the film has had its critics. OK, the plot and characterisation are slight, but essentially this is a homage to the old-fashioned Hollywood musical and we don't need a complicated narrative or lots of back story. Instead we have gorgeous colours and wonderfully zooming and swirling cinematography with uplifting dance sequences and a memorable soundtrack composed by Justin Hurwitz. OK, I've heard better singing and I've seen better dancing, but Ryan Gosling as Seb and Emma Stone as Mia are playing a jazz pianist and an actress respectively and their singing and dancing is much more than adequate. These are two glorious performances.
Writer and director Damien Chazelle has given us a movie - such a contrast in tone and style from his previous "Whiplash"- which is destined to be a classic and become a long-running stage show (it is structured into five acts based on the seasons). The vibrant sequence before the title - reminiscent of a scene from "Fame"- is shown is worth the price of admission alone; musical numbers seemingly shot in a single take hold the attention and bring a smile to the face; a scene where the two leads first hold hands in a cinema is pure romance; the dance sequence in the Griffith Observatory is absolute magic; and the bitter-sweet ending not what I expected but a realistic conclusion to a work that urges us to strive for our dreams whatever the cost.
I just loved this movie and I'm sure I'll see it again and again. Meanwhile I went straight out of the cinema and bought the soundtrack.