This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
oli_lanou’s review published on Letterboxd:
This review may contain spoilers.
Okay. As many of you know, La La Land is my favorite movie of all time, yet i feel like i've never done a proper review for it. So, in order to represent the anniversary of the first time i watched it, last year, i wanted to write something meaningful, something that could be at least able to show how good this movie is and how much it means to me. Buckle up for a long review because i will not hold back.
First, i don't think it's possible to talk about La La Land without talking about the mind behind it. Damien Chazelle had the idea for this movie even before he made Whiplash, which, fun fact, was made in order to make some money to be able to make La La Land, and you really feel the passion behind this movie. Every frame feels so meticulously made with care and attention, and the inspiration from classic movies such as Singing In The Rain and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is very much felt, making the whole project that more personnal and heartfelt. He loves this movie and this idea, and thank god his creative vision wasn't butchered by studio producers because it wouldn't have been the same at all. In short, if it wasn't for Damien Chazelle, even if it had the same script, the movie wouldn't even be half as good, because it was a passion project for him, and the love he had for this movie was felt all throughout its entirety.
Second, Chazelle's visual display has never been stronger in any of his other movies, as La La Land is undeniably a visual masterpiece. Few movies have ever looked as good as this, and even fewer have been able to convey so much meaning with colours and framing. There's a deeper understanding of the colours that, even though i've watched like ten youtube videos about it, i have yet to fully understand it. The way Mia's clothes become darker and darker as the movie, and her relationship with Sebastian, evolves is something that never fails to amaze me. Characters are sometimes split by colour, per example in the dining conversation between Mia and Sebastian, representing how one character, Mia in this instance, is in the light, meaning that she has a clearer understanding of what is going on, meanwhile Sebastian, who's not in the light, has almost lost his dream, his spark if you dare say, hence why his frame has less colours and is overall darker than Mia's. That's only one scene, but there are multiple instances of visual storytelling just like that one all throughout the movie. It's visually gorgeous, and the fact that they used real locations instead of special effects makes all the more beautiful.
Third, i don't think the movie would've worked if it wasn't for Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone's perfect chemistry and acting talents. Not only is their romance perfectly executed on a writing standpoint as it always evolves, but every interaction between the two of them feel so real. In this movie, Ryan Gosling portrays with perfection one of, if not, the character i relate to the most in any medium (movies, shows, books, video games, anything). Sebastian, a character that lives by his passion, always feel like a mirror of myself. I don't want to sound narcissistic, but i've never seen myself more in a character than i do with him. His love for jazz perfectly ressembles my love for movies, and seeing him in the end, with his club, his friends and his single yet happy life never fails to bring me hope. It shows me that even if there will be obstacles in my way and sacrifices to make, one day i will make it, and that's when i will be truly happy and able to live by what i love. Mia on the other hand, while not as relatable as Sebastian, is still one of my favorite characters of all time. She's a lot more complex than Sebastian, which is why she's less relatable to me, but also why she's such an amazingly crafted character. Unlike Sebastian, her passion for acting has a lot more up-and-down, and at one point she even gives up on it. It's the more realistic approach to dreams, and it hurts so much, yet it's so beautiful. The monologue she says to Sebastian outside her house about how maybe she's not good enough perfectly represents both characters' ideology of dreams, which is a major theme in this movie, perfectly. Mia has a more realistic approach to those dreams, almost pessimistic in a way, saying that it takes more than passion in order to make them happen, while Sebastian has a more optimistic way of thinking, telling her that yes, you can make those dreams happen if you really want to. It's an amazing scene, and i love that Chazelle doesn't particularly takes a stand in that conflict, leaving the viewer to decide for themselves.
Fourth, the thing that always brings me back to this movie is the music. Not to brag, but the entire soundtrack was part of my top 100 most listened to songs on spotify in 2023. Jokes aside, this is without any doubt my favorite soundtrack out of any movie ever. Hell, i'm even listening to it right now, and i listened to it three times before watching the movie. I'm not going to do a review on every song, as there is so much meaing behind every one of them that i'd never finish this review, but it's simply magical. Justin Hurwitz crafted some truly perfect songs with Mia and Sebastian's theme, Planetarium and Epilogue. Another Day of Sun, Someone in the Crowd, A Lovely Night, both City of Stars and Start a Fire are all amazing songs. If you noticed, i left one out. It's named Audition (The Fools Who Dream), and it's my favorite song out of the entire soundtrack, as well as one of my favorite songs ever made. Emma Stone is such a good singer, and she really shines in this one. It's song that seems like it's talking to me. I feel seen when she says "Here's to the fools who dream. Crazy as they may seem. Here's to the hearts that brake. Here's to the mess we make." As childish as what i just said may sound like, it's the truth. This song makes me believe in myself, and it's such a perfect way to start the third act of the movie.
A third act that never fails to brake me emotionally. An ending that, as much as it makes me cry, never fails to cheer me up. After all the struggles our main characters have been through and after trying to make their dreams come true for the last hour and forty minutes, we are met with a time jump. "Five years later." A simply sentence that represents so much. After seeing Mia with her new husband and her kid and seeing Sebastian finally have his own club, we realize that they made it. Mia got the part. Sebastian made enough money to buy back the Van Beek. They're happy. Both of them. Happier than we have ever seen them be. Yet they're not together. They both have a new life, where they found success and joy. It's undeniably heartbraking, and it always makes me cry, but there's joy underneath it. They both made it and are happy, what's to be sad about? That they aren't together? There's beauty in this sad ending, there's a message that everything will be alright. And worst of all, or best depending on your point of view, they still love each other. They told themselves that they're always going to love them the very scene before. They helped eachother out in times when both of them needed it. They did what they had to do, and they had to separate if they both wanted to achieve their dreams, and it worked. The last look they give to each other, as sad as it is that they're not together, perfectly ends the movie. They both acknowledge each other, all in good faith. There's no conflict between them. It's just two people who are eternally grateful for the other one, and who will remember them for the rest of their life. No words are spoken, but their faces tell everything. It's beautiful, it's poetic, it's perfect and it's my favorite ending of all time, in my favorite movie of all time.
I'm finally done. I'm grateful to anyone who read it all as it took me an hour and a half to write, and i hope i have been able to show the movie's greatness. At the end of the day, no words will ever be able to demonstrate what this movie means to me on a personnal level. It was there for me in my most difficult times, in moments where my life felt like total hell. And to this day, i still don't think i've escaped from this hell, but this movie shows me that everything will be all right one day. One day.
