A Great Score Accompanied by Genuine Writing and Performances, Unfortunately Falling Flat in the Second Act

Rating: 8/10 (31 December 2016)

La La Land follows Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, an aspiring jazz pianist, who meet and fall in love.
Upon my first viewing, I really didn't care for this movie. The music made it stand out, but that was about it. On my second watch, I found that while it could be tedious, it was a very well-made film.
Let's start with the obvious, which would be the music. It's fantastic. Every single number is memorable and a pleasure to listen to well after seeing the film. This effect does die a little after the second viewing, but perhaps that was due to the fact that I saw it mere weeks after my first watch and everything was still fresh in my mind. Regardless, there's no getting around the fact that the score is great. But more than that, it flows into the movie really well. No track feels forced into the movie for the sake of slapping a 'musical' genre sticker onto it. It takes time to both allow the music to play, then the audience to get into it. The music always fits the movie well too, so none of it really feels unnatural, save for maybe one track towards the end.
The acting is very good, and while I definitely don't think these are the best performances either actor has pulled off, they were very impressive regardless. Both Gosling and Stone get into their roles so much that they feel authentic, and moreover seem like they could actually be lovers in real life. Or at least, really good friends.
The performances are a great compliment to the writing, which is also fantastic. The conversations are authentic, and I could legitimately see myself speaking in a similar way. Just probably not about jazz. And sure, the movie follows the typical romantic movie formula, but most every aspect of that formula is handled in an almost seamless way. It takes it's time to build up the two leads' relationship at the beginning so that it doesn't feel rushed, and the end is handled in a very realistic and engaging way.
The directing here is most always stellar. The movie opens with what appears to be one long take of an entire musical number (and probably the best in the whole movie). While that single-take gimmick was easily faked, it still goes on for quite some time in between the obvious cuts. There is one scene in particular aside from the opening in Gosling's character's house that is spectacular. Sure, it could have easily been cheated, but it looks great regardless. There's a style to it, and it's clear that whoever chose that shooting style knew what they were doing.
Despite all the glamour and masterful film-making on display, this is not a film without flaws. While it does follow and improve upon the romantic formula, it still has trouble putting the love into the leads' relationship. The turning point is mostly understandable, but little things about it make it harder to accept as reality. Other little things here and there bothered me, but that was the biggest of those gripes.
My biggest problem, however, was with the second act. When the two leads finally start dating it divulges to the Hollywood cliché of showing a montage of the two lovers running around together instead of actually developing their relationship. If there was even a little of that in the in between portion to build a bit of 'early- relationship them', I think I'd have liked it enough to put up it's rating. It made a jump that just didn't flow, and I had trouble looking past it.
Overall La La Land is nearly amazing. The performances are, while not necessarily Oscar-worthy, pretty darn close, the music is outstanding, the directing is usually amazing, the writing is authentic, and just about everything else is great too. However, it suffers in it's second act and a few other little places here and there. In the end I would recommend this movie.