Dancing with the stars, literally

Film review: La La Land

MANILA, Philippines - If one loves music and/or cinema, you owe it to yourself to rush out and watch La La Land. Without a doubt, this is one of the most exhilarating and inspired films of the year.

After his success with Whiplash, director Damien Chazelle went back to rewrite an old college script that deftly balances between paying homage to the grand MGM film musicals of the ’50s, while giving us a storyline and resolution that is more French cinema verite. He once again has jazz as a musical cornerstone of the film, but has expanded the soundtrack to gift us with both big production numbers and wistful ballads — all done with music that recalls classic pop standards.

The story revolves around two dreamers in Hollywood: Mia (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress, working as a barista at a Hollywood lot coffee shop in between auditions, while Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a Jazz pianist making ends meet by playing standards and Christmas tunes in restaurants and lounges. The charming aspect of the relationship stems from the initial mutual dislike they have for each other which we all know is ritual “foreplay.” Also a love poem to Los Angeles, at this stage, the film makes deft use of several L.A. locations, none more romantic than the Griffith Observatory — the scene from which we get the title of this review.

The struggle between love and career, the frustrations of being just one of a million hopefuls, the conflict of sticking to one principles in the name of art and one’s craft — these are just some of the big questions that the film poses. What makes La La Land truly contemporary and relevant is how the film addresses all these issues. Not one to resort to the clichéd Hollywood ending, Chazelle utilizes some cinematic sleight of hand to give us the requisite “happy ending,” while taking it away from us at the same instant. How he manages this is the magical last 10 minutes of the film.

From the opening number on the L.A. Expressway, we are astounded by Chazelle’s attack on the film. His “one take” musical numbers are dizzying logistical nightmares that he pulls off to our delight. The color saturation in the cinematography and wide-angle lenses are majestic tributes to the old way of creating film musicals. He pushes for every trick in the book, while staying true to the small story that unfolds. I know purists of these film musicals may decry the singing talents of Gosling and Stone (especially when one duet is immediately followed by the character played by John Legend belting a song), but you can’t fault the two given the enthusiasm and sincerity imbued in their portrayals. While City of Stars is the song carrying the film, my favorite was Stone’s The Fools Who Dream.

I read that it literally took years for Chazelle to greenlight the film. Conventional Hollywood wisdom would have laughed at the idea of a contemporary musical made specially for film (i.e. with no previous successful Broadway run), and with traditional Jazz of all musical genres, as one of its highlights. All I can say is thank you cinematic gods for letting Chazelle realize his dream film. - Philip Cu Unjieng