Ben Nixon’s review published on Letterboxd:
La La Land is a true masterpiece of cinema.
I remember leaving the cinema the first time I watched this in 2016 and simply being speechless and unsure of what I had just watched, in a positive way of course, but La La Land was so special, aesthetic and beautiful. I haven’t seen it for a while and saw it was on TV this evening so didn’t hesitate at all to put it on!
Do I like musicals? Not really, but wow, La La Land is a nostalgic, colourful, joyful marvel!
Damien Chazelle gained international acclaim and recognition from his masterful drama Whiplash, another personal favourite of mine (as well as many others!), what were the chances that he could pull off similar success two times in the row? Well, if La La Land is anything to go by, then I'd say he did the job. With four films under his belt as of 2022, Chazelle is becoming the next big thing this movie industry has seen. His passion for classic movies and musicals is evident as he references and pulls influence from films like Singin' in the Rain, The Umbrellas of Cherborg and even Rebel Without a Cause.
The chemistry between Gosling and Stone is strong to say the least, after two previous collaborations, their already-strong bond helped them become one of modern-day cinema's finest couples. The music is bouncy and toe-tappingly catchy, the cinematography is utterly stunning with gorgeous colours and impressive long takes, and the locations sum up the American dream and the passion the characters hold for Los Angeles. La La Land is by far one of the finest cinema experiences I have had in the past 5-10 years, and although this isn't a film I would typically enjoy (genre-wise), Chazelle has instead crafted one of my favourite films of this decade. A film I would recommend everyone see in the cinema to truly witness the CinemaScope magic.
La La Land clicked with me most likely because of my love for golden-age Hollywood, musicals (a somewhat maligned genre these days, but while there are a fair share of not particularly good ones there are a bigger number of great ones and even masterpieces), and how it fondly reminded me of what makes me love them so much. Also because of being able to relate to its themes and conflicts, due to being there myself. The talent was also appetising, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, directed by Whiplash's Damien Chazelle and featuring cameo support from JK Simmons (who coincidentally won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Whiplash), John Legend and Rosemarie DeWitt.
It was just sheer joy to see a film with so much potential deliver on that potential and even more so, having seen a lot of stuff recently film and TV that wasted their potential it was refreshing to see a film actually delivering on it.
Visually, La La Land is a gorgeous-looking film, with lots of vibrant colour that leap out at you from the screen while not having too much of a dizzying effect and cinematography that's not just a dream to behold but inventively done without falling into self-indulgent territory. The music and songs may induce, and has induced, mixed reactions, count me in as somebody who found the songs infectious, emotion-filled and with enough to make one top-tap and hum along.
The musical numbers are winningly choreographed too with non-stop exuberance. The opening number is especially true to this. The script is warm, funny, affectionate and poignant, and also with an honesty. It's not a complex script, nor did it need to be, and neither does it make the mistake of being too simple. The story is admittedly slight in places, then again so were the stories of even the best golden age musicals and they still managed to be classics because of how everything else was executed and because of the atmosphere.
Something that is true with La La Land, a film where anybody can relate to its themes. Even more special though is that not only does it pay tribute to musicals and films of the golden age (especially those with MGM), with their bold colour, exuberant marriage of music and dance, it also has a winsomeness and melancholic nature seen in films like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg yet does it in a way that will appeal hugely to modern audiences. Loved that the two leads' relationship and chemistry was much more complex than the love-at-first-sight sort (far from it, more antagonists turned lovers) with a meet cute first encounter (again also not a case).
Chazelle's direction shows someone with a sheer love for film and film-making, more than evident in execution that is affectionate and full-of-life rather than self-indulgent. The chemistry between the two leads and their performances would need to be good to make the film work. No worries there. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone look so natural and at ease together, nothing looks false and it is easy to root for them and their conflicts.
Both of them give terrific performances, performances so good that less than great singing was immediately forgotten about. Especially Stone who has never been better in a performance of great expressivity and nuance, so many emotions such as vulnerability, strength, cheekiness, charm and buoyancy with never a hint of a heavy-handed touch. Gosling matches her, if not quite as good, showing a very charismatic presence and an effortless twinkling charm. All the support, although basically cameos, registers memorably.
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