'La La Land' - A Film Review by Pat McGurrin

For those who don't know, La La Land is a recently released musical directed by Damien Chazelle, featuring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. The film has won over 80 awards since its release, and has been nominated for over 130 more.

I personally don't like musicals at all, but yet it is easy to say that La La Land was the most captivating film I have ever seen. It seems as though most musical's music really corny, (not that La La Land's wasn't), but each song seemed less 'typical' than most musical's scores.

The Music

- Sebastian:

• In La La Land, Ryan Gosling's character (Sebastian), is passionate about jazz and is a skilled pianist. Composer for La La Land Justin Hurwitz, seamlessly reflected Sebastian though the score, with each song having a jazzy vibe through the piano. Towards the beginning of the movie, it is revealed that Sebastian is struggling to show is skills, so it makes sense that the piano in the score would be very upfront, like he would have wanted it.

- Mia: 

• Emma Stone's character (Mia) is equally reflected throughout the score. Mia is conveyed to be vibrant and playful, but at the same time she's very nervous on the inside. Each number is performed by large orchestras, but the instrument that stands out  the most in La La Land (next to the piano) is the flute. Specifically, the song 'Someone in the Crowd',  discusses Mia's lack of confidence-but it also includes a solo from Mia and then a flute solo. That flute solo then builds up to and grand close to the song. 'Someone int the Crowd' even has the same counter melody as the opening number, 'Another Day of Sun' (A piano and flute filled piece), which was played just before the first time Mia and Sebastian met.

Filming

La La Land was also so captivating due to its use of 'CinemaScope', which offers a wide angle picture just like IMAX. Unlike IMAX though, CinemaScope was used in the 50's and 60's so the picture is a bit grainy. While it may just seem logical to just use newer, IMAX instead, director Damien Chazelle likely wanted the film to look like musical's of that time.

Chazelle also decided to be ambitious with his filming, as most of the scene were just long tracking shots, done one take. This was especially impressive during the musical numbers, since it felt as though the action was just unfolding.

Theme

(This section contains spoilers). Mia and Sebastian's relationship can be traced down to to themes, which both of them learn in the end. Both Mia and Sebastian had big dreams, but they realized in the end, that pursuing their dreams come at the cost of each other. They also learned that no matter what, they should stick to their roots, and that good things will come with patience. Their relationship never did succeed, and amidst their success they knew that they never could have truly succeeded alone.

Watch It!

You don't have to be into these types (I'm not) to love La La Land. It's for anyone who loves jazz, or any music. I do recommend seeing it in theaters though (I've seen it twice), since the CinemaScope experience is really breathtaking. I'd say that La La Land is my favorite movie ever, and I cannot wait to see more movies by Chazelle.