I no longer want to waste a moment, a feeling, or a sentence. La La Land is a film that inspires: I haven’t written for recreational purposes for nearly a year now and La La Land was the exact therapeutic kick I needed to feel inspired.
La La Land will often be described as an artist’s love letter to artists- but this is a misinterpretation of the film’s message. La La Land is Damien Chazelle’s love letter to passionate people. An appreciation for those who pursue their passions despite the rate of success and a piece to inspire people to follow their quixotic dreams and chase away regret and doubt. The film is a musical set in a simultaneously romanticized and satirized modern Los Angeles. Emma Stone is an aspiring actress and Ryan Gosling a struggling jazz musician. The film is carried by their dynamic and the development of their relationship.
I will speak no more of the plot as La La Land is a film that demands to be felt. There are long periods of nothing but beautiful cinematography and the music that leaves you transfixed on the screen doing nothing but thinking of all else you find beautiful. La La Land knows that it could write a story that we as the audience followed and enjoyed and it still could be the Oscar darling that it is, but Chazelle takes his film one step further and grabs the viewer by the hand and takes us on a journey through the ups and downs of a life for passionate people. The film does not shy away from conflict but it is natural conflict that anyone who has a faraway dream can relate to. The film is drop-dead gorgeous, smart, and profound and the only negative I can think of is that some people will find its long-winded scenes without dialogue dull.
As an aspiring artist, myself the entire two-hour run-time of La La Land, felt like that moment the critic first tasted ratatouille in the Pixar film by the same name. The film is a catalyst for epiphanies, breakdowns, and resurgence. Sitting in the theater I was reminded of what made me fall in love with film and how powerful of an art form it can be. The songs are phonoaesthetically melancholic because the life of an artist is inherently so. So many sacrifices must be made to chase your dreams- so much must be left behind. But La La Land makes it clear that regret is the antithesis of a luxury. Contrition is the largest misuse of time for if all your steps were towards your dream then they were all in the right direction.
I’ve seen many movies in my life: but no film has ever left me so entranced and immersed while still making me feel for my own life and not just vicariously through the wonderful characters but by prompting my own memories and thoughts to permeate through the screen.
Now is the part in the review I am giving to myself to purge any excess thoughts I had on La La Land that didn’t fit the narrative of a professional review. The story is simple in La La Land but the expressionism is complex and the feeling you leave with is profound. The film tells the story of the kind of people who use existential crises as fuel for emotion and who think in prose. Damien Chazelle presents art to everyone in the way that artists see it, he enlightens people to their inner creativity and creates a comfortable balance between relatable and inspirational. And once you hear the soundtrack you won’t be able to get the songs and the feelings they coincide with out of your thoughts.
Directing The Stories 