| My rating | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critics | Audience | Critics | Audience | |
| 10/10 | 93/100 | 8.5/10 | 93% | 85% |
There was a time when “musical” was the most popular genre in American cinema. Through musicals, a wide range of topics was discussed: from World War II (The Sound of Music, Cabaret) to adapted versions inspired by the works of William Shakespeare (West Side Story). However, over time, musicals have lost importance and space in the film industry, with many of the younger viewers being highly prejudiced against the genre.
In light of this, it is rare to see a completely original musical in cinema today. Of course there are exceptions, such as director John Carney’s “Trilogy” – Once, Begin Again and Sing Street – but it’s also true that the vast majority of musicals in the last two decades have been adaptations of Broadway productions. It’s worth remembering that Chicago, also from Broadway, was the first (and, until now, the only) musical to win the Oscar for Best Picture in 2003 since Oliver! in 1969.
And then La La Land is released and conquers not only the general public but also impressive 14 Oscar nominations! What is so special and different about this movie that has been able to break the long-standing musical barrier?
The biggest asset, in my opinion, comes from director and screenwriter Damien Chazelle. Also in charge of the direction of Whiplash, Chazelle manages to bring the musical genre definitively to the 21st century while doing a beautiful homage to numerous classic musicals.
Perhaps the story, relatively simple, has also contributed to generate empathy with the public. We meet Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress who works at the Warner Brothers café, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a jazz musician who dreams of opening his own jazz club. They see each other twice (a traffic fight and a bump in a restaurant) before they really get to know each other. However, when this happens, the audience is already rooting for them: it has already been shown how Mia suffers in auditions and how Sebastian accumulates debts. Together, therefore, they form the perfect pair: two dreamers.
This is thanks to the screenplay by Damien Chazelle, who can narrate a romantic relationship so common in movies in an original way: the scene in which the two begin to fall in love is a great example. As they dance and the sun sets, they sing verses like “we’ve got no shot” and “you’re not type for me”. At the end of the scene, however, the chemistry between the two is undeniable.
La La Land is also a very enjoyable comedy. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling show total and complete intertwining in this third collaboration (Crazy Stupid Love and Gangster Squad). This provides extremely funny moments, since the two actors are capable of facial expressions that alone bring out laughter from the audience.
It is true that they are not the best singers in Hollywood, but this is not the purpose of the movie. The idea is to show ordinary people in search of dreams, not to create vocal opportunities for the actors.
Besides the main couple, it also shows other people who, like them, left everything and moved to Los Angeles in search of something. During the first scene, shot on location during the weekends, we see a traffic jam turn into a real dance floor. Each driver leaves his/her car and tells the audience his/her life story, with many “no” and closed doors, but always persisting and living “another day of sun”, as the song says.
This first scene is also a great example of Damien Chazelle’s direction, since it gives the impression of being filmed without cuts. Also, it is an opportunity to start noticing the works of costume designer Mary Zophres, who uses mostly bright colors during the film, and of the choreographer Mandy Moore.
The colors, once again, draw much attention during practically the entire film. During the song “Someone in the crowd”, for example, Mia and her 3 friends dance through the streets of Los Angeles and each one wears a dress of a different color (also reference to a scene of the musical Sweet Charity). The dresses that Mia wears in the various dance scenes are always monochromatic, which enhances her movements. It is not surprising, therefore, that one of the Oscar nominations is precisely in this category.
In addition, the sets by Sandy Reynolds-Wasco are equally colorful, which conveys the sense that the characters are actually living in a dream.
But the most important thing is music. All the songs have potential to get stuck in our heads and fit harmoniously in the scenes. It is not a coincidence that two of them were nominated for an Oscar: “City of Stars” and “Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” both composed by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Justin Hurwitz. The latter is also nominated in the original score category.
“City of Stars” is one of those songs that can easily become movie classics and it is virtually impossible to leave the theater without humming the melody. “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” is the climax of the film: in this scene we see Mia giving herself completely and trying, for the last time, to pursue her great dream of becoming a professional actress. And it is in this scene that Emma Stone shines the most.
As the subtitle of the song says, it is dedicated to “fools who dream” as well as the whole movie. And La La Land‘s most important job is, in fact, to show that you cannot always have all your dreams: choices must be made and you always end up making compromises to achieve your goals.
Finally, one could enumerate several passages in which La La Land makes tributes and references to classical musicals, but to consider it only as an “homage” would detract from the beautiful work that was done. It deserves to be seen more than once and, perhaps, it will help bring the musicals back to where they should never have left: the category of best film of the year.
