La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016): USA

Review by Stephen Clark. Viewed at Antioch University during the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2017.

Damien Chazelle’s La La Land showcases an award winning and colorful musical that takes place in Hollywood, California. The opening scene sets the tone for the rest of the film with an up beat and happy-go-lucky song during a traffic jam in downtown Los Angeles on a sunny day. Ryan Gosling plays Sebastian, a jazz pianist who finds himself crossing the path of aspiring actress named Mia, who’s role is played by Emma Stone. Both characters offer a very contrasting personality as Sebastian is an enthusiast of traditional jazz and believes strongly in his abilities despite of losing his job at a jazz club. Mia’s occupation as an actress has her set out for different goals as she searches to make connections in the industry at various social events. Despite their differences, each of them learn to love one another as they find that both are extremely passionate about their dreams.

The cinematography work of Linus Sandgren in La La Land is exceptional in the portrayal of various sites in Los Angeles with remarkable lighting that creates a supernatural effect as they shoot on site for takes that would normally be shot in a studio. I saw La La Land during a film screening at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival at Antioch University, and was fortunate to be able to attend a discussion with Damien Chazelle himself.   La La Land is a highly decorated success totaling 153 wins, and 218 nominations including but not limited to nominations and awards at the Academy Awards, and Golden Globes. The mise-en-scene including the delicately planned coloring of costumes to reflect emotion of the characters, the lighting, the props and the scenes created a marvelous sequence of takes that illustrated the relationship between Sebastian and Mia, their separate professional careers, and the setting of Hollywood. The scenes were shot in such a way that would appeal to any audience as the shots were so pleasing to the eye, it would make someone opposed to musicals appreciate the production value of this amazing film.

The plot takes an unexpected direction as Sebastian and Mia find themselves separated by the idea of Sebastian touring with his Jazz band indefinitely. Mia finds herself a new man which I found to be incredibly cliché and a distasteful addition to the plot line, however the production and cinematography kept the film interesting.  I would recommend La La Land to anyone that appreciates film, especially those who don’t particularly love musicals as this opened my eyes to a whole new take on musicals.

 

 

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Published:
02.15.17 / 2am
Category:
Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2017