La La Land
Dave G

Review by Dave G Patron

La La Land 2016

★★★★★

Rewatched Dec 22, 2022

My heart just fucking hurts, absolutely adore this film, even if the ending feels like a knife to the chest.

Emma Stone is so ridiculously charming and likeable as Mia, it's almost absurd honestly. Ryan Gosling is, well he's Ryan Gosling but he's wonderful and has some great chemistry with Stone. He's known for his stoicism and I guess maybe brooding demeanor in a lot of roles and he does get to show off a bit more subtlety and vulnerability in this and it's great.

The story is not groundbreaking or revolutionary, but it works so well and plays to the musical aspects beautifully. As cliched as it sounds, and as much as I'm sure every review mentions it, this is a fantastic love letter not only to golden age Hollywood but also musicals. So well crafted, so well made.

The "I Ran" scene might be, outside of some of the obvious scenes towards the end, my favorite scene. I really appreciate the lighter moments and bits of humor in this a lot, though they don't soften the blow that comes later in the film.

I know musicals aren't for everyone, but I feel bad for anyone that can't enjoy this because this absolutely one of my favorite films of all time.

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