“La
La Land”
Movie
Review
The 2016 American romance musical film La La Land was
created and helmed by Damien Chazelle. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone play an
aspiring actress and a struggling jazz pianist, respectively, in the movie.
They meet and fall in love while chasing their aspirations in Los Angeles. In
supporting roles are John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock, and J K
Simmons.
As a drummer who enjoyed musicals, Chazelle and Justin
Hurwitz first came up with the idea for the movie while studying at Harvard
University. Chazelle wrote the script after relocating to Los Angeles in 2010,
but he was unable to find a studio ready to support the film without making
alterations to his design. The concept was picked up by Summit Entertainment
following the release of his movie Whiplash in 2014. Originally scheduled to
star were Miles Teller and Emma Watson; however, after both withdrew, Gosling
and Stone were chosen. The movie's dance choreography was done by Mandy Moore,
and it was filmed in Los Angeles during August and September 2015. Hurwitz
composed the music for the movie.
The film La La Land had its world release on December 9,
2016. The movie was a commercial success and won critical acclaim for
Chazelle's writing and direction, Gosling and Stone's performances, the music,
musical numbers, score, cinematography, and production design. It continued to
win numerous awards. At the 74th Golden Globe honors, it garnered a record-breaking
seven nominations, and it received eleven at the 70th British Academy Film
Awards, where it won five honors, including Best Film. At the 89th Academy
Awards, the movie got a record-tying fourteen nominations and won six awards,
including Best Actress for Stone and Best Director for Chazelle. At age 32,
Chazelle won the latter category as the youngest winner. Since then, it has
been hailed as one of the best movies of the 2010s and the twenty-first
century.
Jazz pianist Sebastian "Seb" Wilder, who is
stopped in traffic in Los Angeles, snaps at aspiring actress Mia Dolan in the
heat of the moment. After a difficult day at work, Mia has another audition,
but everything goes awry when the casting director calls during an emotional
scene. She is taken that evening to a sumptuous party in the Hollywood Hills by
her roommates, who assure her that someone in the audience might help launch
her career. She walks home dejected after her automobile is towed.
While performing at a restaurant, Seb deviates from the owner's
instructions to exclusively play traditional Christmas music by incorporating
jazz improvisation. As she walks past, Mia hears him playing. She walks into
the restaurant, moved, and sees Seb getting dismissed for being a disobedient
employee. Mia tries to complement him as he walks off, but he ignores her.
Months later, she encounters Seb at a party where he performs in a cover band
of 1980s pop music. They regret spending a great night together as they walk to
their cars after the show despite their obvious chemistry.
When Seb shows up at Mia's place of employment, she takes him on
a tour of the Warner Bros. Backlot where she works as a barista and discusses
her love of acting. As he drives her to a jazz club, he talks to her about his
love of jazz and his ambition to start his own club. Mia accepts Seb's
invitation to see Rebel Without a Cause, forgoing a date with her boyfriend
Greg in the process. She leaves the second date because she is bored and meets
Seb in the theater as the movie starts. Seb and Mia spend the remainder of the
evening together, including a passionate trip to the Griffith Observatory, when
the showing is cut short due to a projector fault.
After further unsuccessful auditions, Mia decides to write a
solo performance with Seb's help. They move in together as he starts to perform
frequently at a jazz venue. Keith, a previous bandmate of Seb's, extends an
offer for him to join his brand-new jazz fusion group, which will provide him
with a reliable source of income. Seb joins the band despite being appalled by
its pop aesthetic after overhearing Mia attempt to persuade her mother that he
is pursuing his career. The band has success, but Mia is aware that Seb does
not care for the music the band plays.
Seb and Mia argue while the band is on its maiden tour; she
accuses him of giving up on his dreams while he counters that she liked him
better when he failed. Seb misses Mia's play two weeks later because he was
late for a photo session. Few people show up for the play, and Mia overhears
critical remarks about her performance, so things don't go as well as expected.
Because she can't forgive Seb for missing her play and their earlier argument,
Mia ends their relationship and goes back to her hometown of Boulder City,
Nevada.
A well-known casting director calls Seb after seeing Mia's play
and inviting her to try out for a forthcoming movie. She attends hesitantly
after he convinces her to go while driving to Boulder City. Mia's only task
throughout the audition is to narrate a story. In response, she sings of being
motivated to pursue her aspirations by her aunt, a former theater actress who
ultimately passed away due to drinking. Seb encourages her to focus on acting
because he is sure the audition went well.
Mia is now a well-known actress with a daughter from another man
she married five years ago. One evening, the pair walks into a jazz club. Mia
notices the logo she designed and believes Seb has opened his own jazz club. As
soon as Seb notices Mia in the crowd, he begins playing their love theme on the
piano. As a dream sequence plays out, the two imagine what might have happened
if their love and professions had thrived together. Before Mia walks away, the
two of them exchange a silent smile.
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