"How are you gonna be a revolutionary if you're such a traditionalist? You hold onto the past, but jazz is about the future."
For the first review of the year, we start off with a bang and a high note. A film that helps us look back to remember where we came from, and forward to see what wonders and possibilities await.
La La Land follows the story of Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) as they stumble through this world of dreams and compromise, trying to find purpose and fulfillment in both their personal lives and career. With elements linking it to the Hollywood musicals of old, the best thing this film does is present you with the feeling of nostalgia but stand out as something completely original and refreshing. It's a love letter to the golden age of Hollywood. They don't make movies like this anymore. Some parts are subtle references, and some scenes are straight up homages. Two of our favorite references were Singing in the Rain, and Casablanca. Be on the lookout.
Stone and Gosling have amazing chemistry on screen, and it's infectious. They play wonderfully well off each other the whole time, even while their characters get off to a rocky start. You empathize with each character more than you're willing to admit, and that sells the picture even more.
The music was incredible. Half the time you didn't even notice it was a musical because the jazz just flowed and matched so well with everything in the film. The melodies and motifs drifting in and out of songs were masterful, and just as powerful as an image on screen. With just a few notes in a certain order our minds are instantly brought back to memories and themes earlier in the film, and can deliver that soaring lighthearted feeling or a sickening punch in the gut.
Okay, let's talk about the cinematography real quick. The way this film was lit is insane. The way sets melted into each other and went from movie set lighting to dramatic stage lighting was very impressive. It added that extra touch of magic that most films seem to lack these days and highlighted that dreamlike feel. At the end of the day, that's what film is all about. The dream.
The overarching themes are universal, and so very personal. Never give up on your dreams, but be realistic about them. Things don't happen overnight, but they can happen! That's all some of us have sometimes. A dream. But it's also about realizing that we live in the real world, and that involves compromise. Compromise that often includes a limitation of time, love, or career.
Sure there are documentaries and hard hitting movies out there that make you think and leave you questioning the world outside. But at the core of Hollywood and film making, at its very center, it exists to entertain. That was the allure of Old Hollywood, the magic they created that we lost somewhere along the way. This film captures and shares the same magic that was created by performances like Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, and the world needs more of that.
"Here's to the fools that dream."