George Napper’s review published on Letterboxd:
“Why do you say “romantic” like it’s a dirty word?”
Damien Chazelle marathon #3
I’ll actually be reviewing ‘Moonlight’. (April Fool's!)
In all seriousness, ‘La La Land’ is certainly not the most complex film ever made from a thematic perspective, but that really doesn’t matter. Damien Chazelle and cinematographer Linus Sandgren demonstrate such dazzling ability with color and camera blocking that — when backed by Justin Hurwitz’s timeless score — you can’t help but be enthralled by the gregarious purity of the film’s tone. Chazelle once again demonstrates perfect pacing, and his two superstar lead actors are more than capable of carrying the film’s purity to its unforgettable finish line.
A further note on the actors: Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling can make you see the world in their eyes when they’re on their A-game. Just as dazzling as anything else in this film are their glances at each other across crowded rooms. All the longing the film speaks to is both distilled and elevated in these moments. I found myself surprised and elated at how emotional I became during the finale.
A further note on that finale: what a treat! It’s a mini ‘American in Paris’, and it still plays beautifully. Very few modern directors are capable of taking a wordless sequence like that and squeezing it for all the emotion it’s worth. In Chazelle’s case, it’s almost like he can’t help it. He can’t help but make these pristine images. He can’t help but inject just the right amount of humor at the perfect times. He can’t help but know exactly when to go big and exactly when to go intimate. And even with all this assured talent, he continues to challenge himself with films like ‘First Man’ and ‘Babylon’, where the tone is much less boilerplate, and yet, still reads (to me, anyway) as smoothly as anything in ‘La La Land’ does. Keep setting your sights high, Damien. I’ll zero-gravity dance with you anytime.
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_3fd3c5b4-cf56-49ef-b219-5b3e0ea0fbca" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-3fd3c5b4-cf56-49ef-b219-5b3e0ea0fbca'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div -tile300x250 -alignleft -bottommargin'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'med_rect_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-3fd3c5b4-cf56-49ef-b219-5b3e0ea0fbca'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-3fd3c5b4-cf56-49ef-b219-5b3e0ea0fbca'));
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_5cdab091-adc3-4482-bb8a-93b7948658b2" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-5cdab091-adc3-4482-bb8a-93b7948658b2'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'sky_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-5cdab091-adc3-4482-bb8a-93b7948658b2'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-5cdab091-adc3-4482-bb8a-93b7948658b2'));
