Having been left at the station by the La La Land hype train, I was excited to be able to see it at Cornell Cinema with Rose House. It had come highly recommended to me personally, so even though I was aware of some of the criticisms it had garnered, I was fully expecting to thoroughly enjoy it. And I did! Sort of. I think. Maybe.
I’ll start with the easy stuff because I am clearly still unable to speak about this movie coherently. La La Land is visually stunning. The cinematography was really cool (the opening scene with the camera moving through the cars on the highway stands out) and the colors were beautiful. To me, the use of color really added to the whole romanticized and fantastical mood of the film. Additionally, it was really cool to see the traditional Hollywood musical style of movie applied to a contemporary setting. I think the film did a really good job of staying true to that old Hollywood style, but bringing it into a more modern era. In my find, the whole film is about the dangers of romanticization, so placing the film in that colorful, shiny, old Hollywood setting really speaks to the themes of the film.
The tricky part for me is the plot and the characters. For most of the film, I remember thinking “Wow, I am really not enjoying this as much as I think I should and I can’t pinpoint exactly why.” I’ve had quite a lot of time to think about it, including a chat about it over lunch with one of my friends back home who I consider the biggest movie person I know, and I still can’t pinpoint exactly why. For starters, I think the plot wasn’t anything new or exceptional. The whole young, broke idealists trying to make their dreams come true in a big city trope didn’t shock or amaze me. It wasn’t bad, I just didn’t think it was groundbreaking. And I didn’t really like the characters. I don’t think you were necessarily supposed to like them, but I do think you were supposed to at least find them interesting, which I didn’t. And not just because Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s singing was strictly passable (although that’s a pretty big movie musical pet peeve of mine. Like, go for the trained vocalists not the big name actors please). I don’t know, something about the characters just didn’t captivate me.
I was talking to my friend about the ending, and we both agreed that it was kind of weird that they both seemed to get everything they wanted at the end. He thought it was even weirder that they got everything EXCEPT each other, but that point actually redeemed a lot of the movie for me. The whole scene at the end where Mia and her husband end up in Sebastian’s successful jazz club and we see the crazy love montage of Mia and Sebastian moving through movie sets of the story as if they had stayed together and ended up just as successful really was the best part in my opinion. Because the whole scene is so romanticized and fantastical that you realize that the reality where Mia and Sebastian could have had it all and had each other is just that, romantic and fantastical. And the smile they exchange at the very end lets the audience know that they know that too. The fact is that they could only pursue their career dreams when they were NOT together. Take that as you will, but to me that really cemented the movie in my mind and is what made me finally come to the conclusion that yes, I liked La La Land.
I was completely blasé about the beginning of this move, and it was exactly as you said–I couldn’t pinpoint why. But you described it perfectly…nothing groundbreaking. However, the ending did make me sob nonetheless, haha.
Hey Leah, it seems you and I had a remarkably similar experience. While the film offered much to be appreciated both in the visuals and the musical numbers, the movie failed to leave an impression. Perhaps our experiences leave us discontent seeing how two artist miraculously “make it” in their industry. For every success story there are thousands of failures, and luminaries Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling convey a dangerously optimistic message about success. So, as you say, the only silver lining to the end seems to be their failure to enjoy life with one another. Part of me believes there’s a chance for the romanticized, fantastical way of life, but it seems we’re required to forsake even those we care for the most in order to achieve our dreams.
I remember seeing the scene near the end of the film where Mia walks into her home and goes in for a kiss from her husband. There was someone in the back of the theater, who upon seeing that the husband was not Sebastian, said “No!” in a really heartbroken tone. And I thought that was great. I also found the hypothetical love montage at the end to be one of the best parts of the movie. It was cool that, even after falling in love with another man, Mia doesn’t forget the impact her and Sebastian had on each other. Even though her imagination produces a very desirable relationship between the two of them, the bittersweet smile she gives Sebastian in the end seems to show that she knows her vision is too ideal.
I watched LA LA LAND after Emma Stone won the Oscar for Best Actress. Thus, I watch the film with very high expectations. I agree with you that while the plot of the film does not stands out, the use of color is very impressive. But I guess that’s exactly the intention of the director–the audience will not get distracted by the plot but focus more on the scenes, the songs, and emotions. I also like the plot twist in the end, when Mia and Sebastian do not end up together. I think this is more realistic and more relatable to the audience than a happy-ending story.
I was unfortunately unable to make the event, but from your review I am very surprised that the film was unable to leave much of an impression to you and a previous commentor. The film had such high reviews, and Emma Stone even received best actress for the film. I maybe should not have read this blog post as the ending was spoiled and I intend on watching the film later, but I am glad to hear that it was not a stereotypical happy-ever-after kind of film. This, in my mind, makes it a more realistic and endearing film. Though, I have not yet seen it.
I appreciate your conflicting feelings about the movie because they really reflected my own. As to why the movie was so loved by audiences, I believe that you found the reason in their being able to succeed by being apart. I’m quite surprised that you didn’t find either character likable, nor believe they were meant to be likable. I found their naive optimism and endearing and somewhat frustrating in the best way.