La La Land - year's Best Film and Best Soundtrack. Multiple Oscars expected.
The guy I really respect Damien Chazelle, moved to LA in 2011, exactly the same year I did. Starting completely from the scratch, directing and writing Whiplash about basically himself being a drummer in the past, he same time was writing La La Land. Just think about it, guy came without a penny, literally not being involved in anything else at all, risking financially, basically risking his life! He was working on Whiplash and La La Land with his roommate Justin Horowitz, who is actually composer on the both of the films. Think about it, since 2011 he succeeded so much, and we all saw how exactly he did it, getting an Oscar and now he going beyond that with La La Land in his young for the industry age of 31.. is undoubtedly a historical event.
La La Land is unforgettable, I can not throw it out of my head already for a week. Yes it is a love letter to mid-century Hollywood musicals, but it sometimes feels like a passion project that was penned by a filmmaker who never fully grasped the object of his affection. The superficial thrills of the genre are all present and adoringly rendered, but the actual purpose of the whole exercise is much harder to discern.
Hints of greater meanings in the themes of past and tradition run throughout the story of two young hopefuls who struggle to navigate love, art, rent, and their futures in modern-day Los Angeles. We all being through it, anyone here in LA especially, and many others around the world. This film hits hard all kind of diverse audiences.
Mia, portrayed by the luminous Emma Stone, is a struggling actress and aspiring playwright, who works in a coffee shop on the Warner Bros. lot that is, as she loves to point out, across the street from portions of the set from Casablanca. Meanwhile, Ryan Gosling‘s Sebastian lives life as a pianist who lovingly and pedantically talks about jazz like a smoother Howard Moon, but must pay his bills by playing treacly muzak in cocktail bars.
Yeah and the bars... actually the club in some of the scenes is a real Jazz club you should definitely visit. BTW check out all of the locations if you are in LA ever, here is the link https://la.curbed.com/maps/la-la-land-filming-locations
In any case if you are my close friend, our client or partner you can always ping me, I love LA and showing it around, show it's behind the scenes.
So yes... Locations. Caustic sparks fly as the pair run into each other and soon fall in love. They watch Rebel Without A Cause at an old theater! They visit the Griffith Observatory! Mia attempts to recreate the plucky joie de vivre of an aunt who inspired her to live her dreams, writing a play that she fears is too nostalgic, even though Sebastian assures her that nothing can be too nostalgic. Sebastian, however, dreams of restoring a legendary jazz club, instead of watching it become a samba and tapas venue. Instead, he finds himself in a modern jazz fusion outfit with a bandleader who insists the best way to keep the genre alive is to keep it new.
Altogether, it’s a concept with great potential and significance – the question of whether or not faithful recreation or innovation is the better way to honor the past is vital to art, particularly in our remake-obsessed climate – but the way it’s handled in La La Land winds up being pretty, yet ultimately thin, much like the singing voices of its two leads. What’s more, the film isn’t really sure where it stands on the issue, often veering toward overtly faithful homages to the glory days of studio musicals, with its glowing cinematography, expansive wide shots, dazzling choreography and costumes, and speedy dialogue. Guys you should all check it, trust me it is so good. You will probably want to watch it again.
Chazelle’s attempts at modernizing the genre are the success. Old-fashioned conventions and present-day sensibilities is often charming – and it’s refreshing to watch Mia get a dose of agency in the romantic lead that was not always afforded to her predecessors. La La Land is gorgeous in general, often delightful, and quite satisfying. Its very existence is a triumph, given that an unabashed throwback A-list musical could not have been an easy sell, even for someone coming off of such significant hype. Everyone involved deserves credit for taking the risk at all, and this is still more exciting than the average, predictable awards season drama. But it’s still a slight disappointment given the incredible amount of potential in the talent involved and the idea of the production itself. As the film waltzes to its melancholy conclusion about lost loves and faded hopes, it’s hard not to think about the viewing experience itself as another kind of heartstring-tugging what if.