thelistislife42’s review published on Letterboxd:
9/10
Road to My End of the Decade List - Movie #18
My third watch.
I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with this movie. I saw it twice in theaters back when it came out and was very much on the "La La Land is a masterpiece" hype train. But then Moonlight won best picture, I saw Arrival and it became my favorite from 2016, and I slowly began to care less and less about this movie. Pretty soon, I was on the "La La Land is overrated" train. I never disliked it, but I've sometimes found myself relating to those who complain about it and annoyed at those who praise it as one of the greats. So where does that leave me now?
At this point, I know the story beats so well that it really had no way of blowing me out of the water on this rewatch. That being said, it's just a nice movie to revisit and I'm glad I did because I forgot just how fantastic it is. The direction, cinematography, and visuals are unbelievable, and the story is so goddamn sweet and charming. Despite that, I think it's easy to overlook how cynical this movie is and this was the first time I thought about the fact that, in many ways, it's a movie constantly at war with itself. It tackles contradictions - contradictions involving the price of love, success, and dreams. It's in a constant dialogue with itself about nostalgia versus forward progress, living dreams versus dealing with reality, and remembering the past that shaped us versus looking to the future that awaits. It never fully reconciles any of these questions, but it forms the ideas and emotions surrounding them. For me, it's only more emotional now than it was the first two times I saw it because of both my successes or lack thereof when it comes to romance and because of my dreams, ambitions, and fears about working in the film industry. And it's been said to death, but that ending sequence is truly one of the finest final scenes in film history.
I may still slightly be on the "La La Land is overrated" train. But what does that matter? I'm sure as hell all the way back on to the "La La Land is a masterpiece" train.
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