LA LA LAND

A film which explores the longing we feel for the things we have lost in time.

95/100

Original Release: 2016

Directed By: Damien Chazelle

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

Favourite Quote:

"Maybe I'm one of those people that has always wanted to do it, but it's like a pipe dream for me, you know? And then you... you said it, you-you changed your dreams, and then you grow up. Maybe I'm one of those people, and I'm not supposed to. And I can go back to school, and I can find something else I'm supposed to do. 'Cause I left to do that, and it's been six years, and I don't wanna do it anymore."

Favourite Shot:

There’s a scene in La La Land that is a microcosm of all Damien Chazelle’s films up until this point. It’s when Emma Stone’s character, Mia, is performing her one woman show and Ryan Gosling’s character, Sebastian, shows up late.

Sebastian is so caught up at his job and realises, too late, that he’s missing out on what is really important to him, so he bails.

But he still misses it. He misses the moment and now it’s gone.

The films of Damien Chazelle are all obsessed with dissecting and analysing the elements of this one scene. With all of the limited time we have on this Earth what should we be doing with it?

Chazelle doesn’t have the answer. But with La La Land he seems to make it clear that no matter what our various dreams and desires are, we will never be able to have it all.

Chazelle’s third film is a musical, set in an imaginary version of LA which merges today’s Hollywood with the Hollywood of the 40s and 50s. And it is mainly about the relationship between aspiring actor Mia and jazz pianist, and enthusiast, Sebastian.

They are two people with distinct and determined dreams that fall in love and, putting it simply, La La Land asks: What is more important, your dream or your soul mate?

There are so many things that we miss out on and lose in this life and, no matter how happy we are, we can’t help but yearn for them all back. Even just for one day.

The film begins with a musical number where a bunch of people that are stuck in traffic get out of their cars and sing about leaving their small hometown for LA. I haven’t researched this, but it feels completely as if this was one of the first ideas that came to Chazelle when he was writing this film.

It seems like the perfect base for what we are about to experience. We are immediately struck with the feeling of smallness that these individuals must feel when coming to a place where millions of others are trying to do the same thing as them.

And simultaneously we are given the excitement and magic feeling that comes from the slight hope of our dreams becoming reality.

The two main characters are established quickly and their love is believable and intimate. Chazelle achieves this through his use of sound and visuals to illustrate what our characters are feeling.

A prime example of this is in a scene (which is also quite similar to the scene I mentioned in the introduction) where Sebastian has invited Mia to the movies with him and she has had to ditch him to go on a date with her boyfriend.

We cut from the lone Sebastian waiting out the front of the theatre throwing his hands up in defeat, to Mia sitting completely silent at her date, while the others at her table chatter away. Their conversation remains in the background as we close in on Mia’s face.

And then she begins to hear the film’s central theme through the restaurant's speakers and just through that simple trick we feel exactly what is happening inside her head. She hasn’t said a word, but we know.

Once the relationship is established the rest of the film is all about this conflict between choosing your dream or your partner. Is it possible to give your all to the thing you’ve dreamed about since a child, whilst also giving your all to the person you're in love with?

Will you take your moment, or will you turn up late and find that you missed out on the thing that was more important all along?

It’s a fear that accompanies us our whole life. We all want to be on our deathbeds with no regrets. And the film wrestles with the difficulty of knowing what is more important in the moment.

The film features stunning musical numbers and choreography, extremely accessible lead performances, magical and creative direction as well as the creation of a fictional LA that you wish you could walk around in.

The ending of the film continues Chazelle’s streak of perfect endings. We travel five years into the future where both characters are successful, but not together. Mia walks into Sebastian’s jazz bar and he starts playing the piano. And then …

What could have happened if they had stayed together is played out on screen. A thing we do in our minds almost daily (or at least I do). Imagining what could have happened if we did something different. Backed by the powerful main theme, the scene is truly heartbreaking and an undefeated tear jerker.

There are so many things that we miss out on and lose in this life and, no matter how happy we are, we can’t help but yearn for them all back. Even just for one day.

And it isn’t just Mia and Sebastian. Chazelle is also yearning for lost things through the creation of the film. The Hollywood of the 40s and 50s that he will never get to experience, the music that he loves which is dying, the life that he didn’t choose to pursue in the jazz industry.

And we feel all of these things deeply because it is something we experience daily, just put on a grand stage.

Chazelle’s third film is a huge development in his career as a director. It is bigger and more expensive than anything he has ever done before. But even with all the grandiose and extravagant set pieces, La La Land doesn’t drift too far away from earth. It still explores a very human notion: the things we lose everyday by choosing something else.