Golden age of Hollywood cinema re-imagined for today

Rating: 10/10 (17 September 2016)

Telluride by the Sea (Portsmouth, NH) led off its 2016 weekend film festival with La La Land, a captivating film that hearkens back to the golden age of Hollywood cinema yet remains firmly embedded in present-day Los Angeles life. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling bring a startling depth and nuanced feelings to what could easily have been another trite variation on the theme of falling in and out of love. The film impressed me on so many levels, for the quality of the direction and cinematography, the seamless transition between musical song-and-dance numbers with a powerful narrative, the inventive choreography, the authenticity that Stone and Gosling brought to their portrayal of their characters, and the amplification of the intensity of their romance enacted through their singing and dancing. This film is not-to-be-missed by anyone who loves the classic Ginger Rodgers-Fred Astaire movies and who longs for a modern re- invention of this genre.