La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016) is a homage to old Hollywood and the iconic studio films of the golden age. It’s a film whose premise is completely based on the idea of cinematic ‘nostalgia’ as filmmaker Chazelle affectionately indulges in the pristine and glamorous artistry, techniques, and romanticism of a films from the past. Being nominated for multiple awards and most famously for Best Picture at the Academy in which the famous ‘mix up’ took place, the film tells the heartfelt, and heartbreaking, love story between the characters of Sebastian and Mia (played by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone). Mia is an aspiring actress and Sebastian a jazz musician. It’s these respective ‘dreams’ that serve as the conflict between their love and their individual life paths and Los Angeles serves as the perfect setting to encapsulate emotions of hope, wonder and passion for both their work and one another. Chazelle tells this story with such passion and energy, driven from such a clear admiration towards classical, genuinely empathetic storytelling.
I’ve seen this film a few times and, whilst not perfect, I think this film is truly great. I can’t help but feel completely engaged in the catharsis of it all. Clearly taking inspiration from legendary directors such as Vincent Minnelli (I’d argue The Band Wagon (1953) appears to be the biggest aesthetic inspiration) the film sweeps the audience up and into a completely overwhelming and wondrous world of struggles and artistic expression and the visuals of Damien Chazelle’s film are something to behold. The vibrant and dynamic set and costume design combined with the soft widescreen anamorphic cinematography by Linus Sandgren makes for sweet, glossy and always moving viewing experience. If viewed extremely objectively (and rather harshly), it could be argued that this time spent indulging in aesthetic traits and story beats of a cinema once past, plays a both the film’s strengths and weaknesses in that the film is completely driven by a pre-existing and hyper stylised tone.
However, it’s the fact that each and every element of the movie (from a technical standpoint) is near perfect, that this becomes in no way a flaw. In fact, it even emphasises how much effort and creativity has gone into each detail such as the songs, the choreography, the blocking, the direction etc. I’d also argue that what Chazelle achieves is no easy feat. In fact, many filmmakers have tried and failed when it comes to building a narrative around a golden era sense of nostalgia (Best Picture winner The Artist (Michael Hazanavicius, 2011) is a specific example of a film I believe not to work in that regard). A film like La La Land will truly stand the test of time due to its visually exciting and emotionally moving nature.
James Learoyd's Film Studies Blog 