La La Land is written and directed by Damien Chazelle, the man behind Whiplash, and it's a romantic musical about an aspiring actress and a jazz pianist who fall in love in Los Angeles while pursuing their dreams. Mia Dolan, played by Emma Stone, spends her time working in a cafe and auditioning for roles, a seemingly fruitless and degrading effort, and Sebastian Wilder, played by Ryan Gosling, spends his time playing jingles at restaurants where no one's even listening and dreams of running his own jazz bar one day. They fall in love but are forced to decide between each other and their dreams!
I wasn't expecting this to be a musical, I was definitely expecting musical elements but I thought it would be more along the lines of Whiplash, that's not the case though and it was clear after the opening scene! I'm not really a fan of musicals, the only musical I've ever enjoyed was the ''Once More with Feeling'' episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, other than that it's pretty much new ground for me but felt like everything you'd expect a musical to be! It's a very well made film with fantastic performances and an engaging narrative that keeps you invested in characters who sing and dance!
It's beautifully shot and masterfully choreographed, the synchronized dancing was impressive and it felt like I was at a theatre watching this, it's just not the sort of film I'm into so it's hard to judge it appropriately, it's clearly a well made film but it's a tone that I struggle to connect with, there's a campness to it. It's not all singing and dancing though and I didn't hate it, I liked it infact, I was invested in these characters and I thought Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone had some great chemistry together. It's a story about the conflict between young love and big dreams and it's emotionally impactful.
The performances were great, Ryan Gosling was very good and Emma Stone was excellent, it's all very Broadway-esque though which is fine, but again, it's just not for me. It's definitely not as good as Whiplash either which was pretty much a perfect film! Whiplash had a lot of personality and a lot of grit to it whereas this is camp and glossy, there's no edge to it, it's something your grandmother might like though! If I'd known this was a musical I honestly probably wouldn't have even watched it, unless it's that Buffy episode I have no interest in them whatsoever, I'm not their audience.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes musicals, it seemed like it was a good one, if you don't I wouldn't and that's about it! It's an undeniably well made and well executed film and I'll give credit where credit's due but as far as my personal enjoyment goes, I was kind of bored, I did, however, feel a little something, I had a little emotional investment going on and some engagement in the narrative but not enough to where I'd ever watch this again or recommend it to anyone else. I'm gonna give La La Land 7.6/10, if you like musicals watch it, if you don't, don't!
What did you think of La La Land?