If you haven’t seen La La Land
yet, don’t be fooled by the magical, musical, romantic sense its rushes evoke. It
is all that, to be sure. But it is far more than that. The heart and soul of
the film is the relationship between a couple struggling in their respective
creative fields. The female protagonist Mia, played by the emotional
powerhouse Emma Stone (fast becoming my favourite), is a wannabe actor in
Hollywood who is desperately working towards her big break. The male
protagonist is Ryan Gosling’s Sebastian, a jazz music artist, with the dream of
opening a Jazz bar, while he takes on gigs that don’t exactly speak to his
soul.
While the both of them find their
own personal version of their La La Land, where their dreams come true, reality
always comes with a twist as some dreams necessarily need to be foregone to achieve
others. La La Land, can thus leave you wondering about life’s big philosophical
questions. And leaves you, with a lump in your throat. It is a tremendously
moving film, with a climax that could turn you into slush.
This is in no small part thanks
to the wonderful acting. Emma Stone has more to emote, as her character deals
with one rejection after another, expresses light hearted joy during her times
with Sebastian, copes with her loneliness and finally finds her satisfied bliss.
Her capacity to bring out her most vulnerable parts and put them out there with
dramatic, and yet understated intensity is one of a kind. Ryan Gosling has less
to do, but sometimes less is truly more. He plays the part of Sebastian to
perfection, giving him commitment and kindness, even with its limited emotional
or verbal expression.
The atmosphere of the film is a
character in itself that lends more richness, colour and beauty to the story
than perhaps any other film in recent times. There are some scenes that deserve
a special mention, like the couple’s dance among the stars, which is really
just a metaphor for their inner state as they feel the first rush of a new
romance. And then there is the final montage, parts of which are crafted with
so much care, it is heart breaking. And then there is the music, which has so
much variety, and yet to comes together to significantly raise the entire
sensory experience that is La La Land.
But even without the entire
visual experience of the film, there is enough in the story to hook you to it
because of its earthy relatability. Anyone who has made hard choices in life
will relate to it. Anyone who has tried and failed will relate to it. Anyone
who has tried and succeeded will relate to it. Anyone who has loved and lost will
relate to it.
I had skipped watching La La land
when it was first released in theatres, and despite it getting good reviews.
Just couldn’t get myself to watch another pretty, romantic musical. But the
record breaking number of Oscar nominations made me curious enough about it.
Even though the film has a slow start, and truly pulls you in only by the
second half, it is more than worth the trouble to take yourself to the movie
hall and treat yourself to this lovely creation.
Fem Thoughts: It is always great to watch a film with strong female
characters, especially if they are also unabashedly strong, ambitious and
driven. La La Land gets a thumbs up.
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