Damian Chazelle's musical film La La Land shows us that the mythical world still exists and that dreamers are still striving to be a part of that world. Through the two lead characters Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) we follow two dreamers in their quest to become a part of Hollywood. Mia strives to be an actress and Sebastian a legitimate nightclub owner that plays true jazz. There first encounter is in Los Angeles traffic, which to form is never a positive experience for anyone. Later they meet at a party, Sebastian performing in an 80's cover band and Mia trying to avoid falling into a relationship trap with another party goer. They save each other and as expected, slowly form a relationship that leads from just friends to lovers.
Chazelle uses many classic storytelling devices that can be expected of romantic films, especially in classical Hollywood musicals; falling in and out of love, dance numbers, musical themes and motifs and that overall sense that the world can stop for a musical number. Though much of what happens on screen is not new to movie musicals, Chazelle injects a vibrancy of life into the narrative. The vibrancy is shown through the colors that jump out of the ultra wide screen that Mia and Sebastian move and dance their way through. The score and soundtrack put together by Justin Hurwitz is infectious and adds the all important layer of sound that bridges the emotions of the characters to the audience.
La La Land is part homage to movie musicals (as many film critics have pointed out) but also homage to a type of storytelling that has been overshadowed by special effects and somber realism, the only way to describe it is Hollywood melodrama. Hollywood melodrama encompasses the grandeur of star actors and production design that leads to an overwhelming scope that we, the audience, inherently know is out of reach but we still reach for it. One example from the film is where Mia and Sebastian go the Griffith Observatory after having watched Rebel Without a Cause (Ray, 1955). While at the observatory Mia and Sebastian perform a dance number "in the stars" that are projected in the ceiling. In a moment of shared love they float into the air, dancing to music that would fit perfectly into a musical in the 1950's. Chazelle expresses the emotions of the moment through extraordinary means that in no way reflect actual reality. But Chazelle knows that the emotions are real, for we ourselves may have experienced them at some point in our life, and therefore we can suspend reality to get lost in the moment. (i.e Think Singin' in the Rain (Donen & Kelly, 1952) and Gene Kelly's iconic dance number where he sings in the rain.) Not many filmmakers would be willing to take that chance. In some respects Scorsese seemed to have tried for it with his film New York, New York (1977) and failed. Chazelle is successful in part because he allows us to float on the dreams of the characters and not force us into confined tropes.
What seems to bring La La Land into more extraordinary filmmaking territory is its understanding of the nature of Hollywood. For all of the visions of grandeur that comes from dreaming of success there is an undertone of compromise that one has to journey through. In the film Sebastion takes a gig as a keyboard player in a successful band that has him on the road away from Mia. Mia sacrifices herself to trying to be successful that it causes strife in her relationship with Sebastian. The sacrifice eventually leads her to success but also moves her a world away from Sebastian. The relationship that we have seen grow throughout the film matures into something that is often times all too familiar and very much a part of the reality of life. The ending of the film allows us to understand the dream of both Mia and Sebastian while also the reality of choices they have made.
Hollywood continues to be that epicenter of the big screen dream for so many. La La Land updates our dreamers into the twenty first century while utilizing past filmmaking styles and techniques. Chazelle reminds us that the big screen can still produce dreams and show us emotions in ways that sing to us. Those emotions in turn make us want to dance and sing and get ourselves lost in our own la la lands.
