La La Land: Movie Review (No Spoilers)

By Michael Momper

It is an arduous task to focus upon just one aspect of Damien Chazelle’s masterpiece La La Land… it is not only a near-perfect feat of cinema, but also an unstoppably alluring piece of art.  It not only portrays the stunning natural beauty of its setting, but also the achingly gorgeous reach of the human spirit.  And it not only moves you with its dreamy and pure-hearted score, but also manages to elegantly portray the inner nature of love and human relationships in only two hours.  It is a feat, to be sure- and had I simply latched on to its slightly-misleading moniker of “musical”, I most likely would not have seen it.

It dawned on me recently that perhaps the reason this movie (and all my favorite movies, for that matter) moved me and so many others is because of the soul and genuine depth of its characters.  Too often, authentic characters are eschewed for pencil-thin sketches of humanity or even over-acted, bloviating characters that are completely void of any nuance whatsoever (this can be found very often in atrocious horror flicks like The Devil Inside, or even more prominently in terrible profanity-laced comedies like Horrible Bosses 2).  Director Damien Chazelle, instead, perfectly managed to balance on the fine line between overly cheesy emotional appeal and Seth Rogen-esque cynicism.  La La Land brings to us characters that we truly empathize with; its lead characters, played by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, convey a yearning for each other and for their dreams that does not feel at all far-fetched, but rather feels attainable and heartfelt in a way we can all relate to.  The film more importantly portrays a beautiful and complex look at the nature of love, showing the viewer that one meaningful relationship can provide all the strength you need to lift your spirit.  It is a gorgeous view of life that leaves almost every viewer smiling or in tears as it shows sacrifice, compassion and dedication (every time I view it I have the goofiest smile on my face from the very first second until the very last).  Damien Chazelle manages to perfectly capture the effect that a person’s relationships can have on their success and dreams.

As most viewers have enumerated upon, La La Land is also a wonderful throwback to the old Hollywood classics- groundbreaking cinema such as Casablanca or Bringing Up Baby or Singing in the Rain- but also manages to stay fresh and avoid being overly nostalgic.  The movie’s magical color scheme whisks viewers away in similar fashion to Wizard of Oz, though not quite as fantastical.  Old Hollywood traditions like extreme close-up shots are also used, and give us an extraordinary glimpse into the emotions of our two protagonists.  Part of the brilliance of Emma Stone’s Oscar-winning performance is contained in these close-ups; she conveys so much feeling with her eyes and is expressive in a way that is rarely matched in modern cinema.  The musical numbers and their inherent gleefulness is another wonderful throwback touch that adds to the wonder of the setting and the joy plastered across the audience’s faces throughout.  The humor is witty and snappy throughout (“It’s a samba and tapas place, so the joke’s on history, I guess”).  But perhaps my favorite old-Hollywood touch and one of the most essential cornerstones to capturing the tone of this bygone era is the innocence and purity that are imbued into every scene.  Unlike many modern flicks, this movie manages to convey love and joy and pain and growth without drawing upon pointless profanity, gratuitous sexuality, needless violence, or political propagating.  It is a movie that is made with the original purpose of movies in mind: escapism.  You are brought into someone else’s world for 2 hours and your outside cares melt away; afterwards you fondly reflect upon it and move on with your life.

Despite the sweeping magic of the movie and the old-school escapism that it brings, somehow it still manages to feel real and genuine, which is certainly one of its biggest feats.  Though the setting feels almost unattainably beautiful and the main characters themselves are very easy on the eyes, the script is still so tight and inspired that the story feels completely plausible.  Despite the outbreak of occasional musical numbers, the audience still feels as if the story is relatable- though we may not all be Hollywood-bound, we can relate to the struggle of the oft-denied actress and the jazz pianist who feels his trade is no longer in demand.  The characters are down to earth, authentic, and despite their physical attraction I almost felt as if I could run into them at school.  Their story is inspiring no matter what your profession, and clearly it came straight from Damien Chazelle’s heart, as he tells it in a way that only someone who has truly lived through these things can.  The phenomenal camera work and perfect set pieces certainly aid this fact.  Throughout the movie, in every musical number, every dance sequence, and every romanticized scene, the camera glides and sways the same way the characters do- it seemingly joins in and mimics the wonderfully choreographed movements.  It is a shimmering, toe-tapping affair, to be sure.

If I haven’t convinced you to undertake this journey yet, allow me perhaps one final appeal: an appeal based on the film’s greatest residual impact that can be relived over and over again.  Justin Hurwitz’s musical score for the movie, rightfully a character in and of itself, is right up there with the most powerful and influential scores of all time.  The emotional resonance of his beautiful jazz piano compositions is akin to absolute classics such as, well, really any Ennio Morricone composition, or the hauntingly beautiful Schindler’s List theme by John Williams (or in a similar emotional stratosphere, the marriage theme from Pixar’s Up).  All of the aforementioned scores are absolute classics, and I truly believe that Hurwitz’s score for La La Land will eventually be regarded in similar fashion.  It is a score that is so emotionally moving that it perfectly explains every arc of the main characters’ developments and also treats the listener to an experience of dreamy reverie.  It feels sentimental, but not overly so; and it is also as introspective and pure-hearted as the script itself.  Because of its re-listen potential, Hurwitz’s score is certainly one of the film’s biggest assets, and oftentimes the most powerful reason for me to continually re-watch the movie as a whole.

Well, there’s not much more I can say without going extremely in-depth and without gushing over the film completely (we will just pretend I haven’t done any gushing up to this point).  Maybe this comes off as too desperate of a plea, but if you haven’t yet, please just go watch this movie.  If even one more person can watch this movie and feel the way I felt afterwards, my work is done!  I would love to hear what you think of it.