Review: La La Land

It is always tough to ignore the stuff you hear about a major Oscar front-runner before going to actually see it. You always go into fearing that you will be disappointed as a film that has already been given such a high accolade, you expect to be one of the greatest films of all-time. But it never always end up like that.

Out of the films that have won Best Picture at the Oscars this decade, I am fine with most of them winning the award. The only ones that I would not agree with, is Argo and 12 Years A Slave. While both were good films, I just would never give the title of Best Picture winner.

This year, we have La La Land that is already predicted to win many Oscars including Best Picture. It is also a musical. That is certainly a genre we rarely see these days, and be done well. The only recent one for me was Les Miserables.
Despite a part of me being nervous for not liking it, I was already expecting big things when I first heard about it. A musical directed by Damien Chazelle starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. That alone was enough for me. I have avoided the trailers and made sure to go in cold. After seeing Chazelle direct the amazing Whiplash, I knew he could direct a musical as music seems to be an integral part of several of his projects.

It actually took me a while to get fully invested with it. While I was liking what was happening on screen in the first half, everything felt like a bunch set pieces rather than telling a story. Also, a lot of first half was feeling like it was style over substance.

Thankfully as the film went on, I was seeing a story beginning to evolve. By the time the final act came around, I was enjoying it. Then the brilliant finale gave the film a great send off.

The performances were pretty good on the whole, especially all the dancers involved. I was unsure of Emma Stone at the start, whether I'm supposed to care for her. I was liking her by the end of it and it really is a great performance.

Ryan Gosling was great in it. His first appearance on screen gave me the first bit of reassurance that I was going to like the film. Any awards that he may win or get nominated for is totally deserving. Stone and Goslong's chemistry continues to be like their other films, believable, strong and great to watch.

Also, for the short time he was on screen, J.K Simmons continues to show how great he is and that Chazelle gets the best out of him.

Apart from the editing, the technical side of the film quite impressive. The whole feeling is very dreamy. A bit like Gene Kelly's musicals, there is always a big dreamy dancing set-piece. La La Land feels like that for nearly all of it. Even the Justin Hurwitz's score adds to that tone.
The music is obviously great. There are lots of big hits that has created a soundtrack that I would not mind having. The choreography of the dance sequences were very well done. What lacked in risk, was made up in finesse.
I really liked the camera work, especially the use of long tracking shots. Those aspects in a film always win me over.

For fans of musicals, there's lots of nice references to not the older ones, and older films in general. It'll be a good game for film fans to spot those moments.

In the end, while I had problems with the first half and that I still prefer the classic musicals, this is a great combination of giving the musical genre a new look and paying homage to the films that have made me and many others love this genre. I can already see myself enjoying this more and more on repeat viewings.

A lot of people will find enjoyment with this, but at different moments.

It's being billed as a love letter to Los Angeles. If it was a love letter to anything, it would be more to people that go to L.A. to capture their dreams. I hope this may kick start more musicals and this could be the template structure for future ones. But realistically, I am living in hope. In the meantime, let's just enjoy this highly entertaining piece of work.

Rating: 8/10