MOVIE REVIEW: LA LA LAND (2016)
Easily the most talked-about and gushed-about film of 2016, La La Land scored over a dozen Oscar nominations and was the assumptive Best Picture winner in the minds of most people until the end of Oscar night. After its surprise loss made Oscar history for the hosts’ and production crew’s bungle of the Best Picture envelope, it’s pretty much joined the pantheon of every other much-ballyhooed film of the 21st century: hot in the moment, but something of an afterthought just a few years later. Its shelf life is extended by the star power of its two leads, but this is one of those movies that didn’t live up to the hype for me.
Aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) and opinionated jazz musician Sebastian “Seb” Wilder (Ryan Gosling) cross paths a few times in the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles and kindle a friendship. Both have big dreams but have a long way to go. With the odds stacked against them, they support each other’s ambitions as their friendship turns into something more. Their individual pursuits bring stress, tension, and conflict that threaten to get in the way of their trajectory individually and as a couple.
Despite being involved with my college theatre group, I never became a musical guy. I skew toward heady dramas and thrillers. Some classic musicals worked their magic on me over the years, but modern musicals much less so. The kind of whimsy that fuels La La Land fits its idealistic leads and follow-your-dreams tone, but it failed to resonate with me. I’m idealistic about certain creative pursuits, but I think this film goes too far in its pro-idealism outlook for those as moderately life-hardened as me.
Emma Stone is definitely the superior of the two leads, in both the acting and character development. Mia is just starting out her journey against the current of LA, so she experiences a much wider range of emotions. She bounces to and fro in a swirl of optimism, despair, hope, frustration, joy, and defeat. Stone finds a way to bring those emotions forward hard enough so her character wears them all on her sleeves, but also restrained enough so as to not overact.
Gosling, on the other hand, plays a jaded jazz evangelist who seems content to eke by on his own terms. He sneers at everything he dislikes about the modern direction jazz is taking, not to mention criticizing much of the idealism run amok in LA newbies like Mia. It is far easier for him to talk about opening a jazz club that spreads the gospel of his brand of true jazz than to actually take steps to open said club. His passion for his art is strong as ever, but his experience in LA has left him disillusioned enough to keep it mostly to himself.
Despite Stone’s Oscar-worthy performance, the character of Mia gets a little whiny and weepy for my taste. Her idealism amplifies all of her emotions. Younger folk may eat it up and relate, but this movie came about well after my most idealistic days. Gosling seems effortless in his journey as a guarded jazz bum who has to settle professionally for a while in order to advance his dreams, but jazz bums are only so appealing. (For the record, I enjoy quite a bit of the kinds of jazz music Seb vouches for.) Mia and Seb are interesting counterpoints to each other, but I feel that there isn’t sufficient development in the supporting cast. Stone and Gosling are the movie, so it is either make or break depending on how they resonate with you the viewer. A rounder supporting cast may have improved the overall piece.
After all the idealism, romance, struggle, you might expect this film to end in the most cookie-cutter way possible. What’s a more LA/Hollywood ending than everything turning out great for everyone? Thankfully, La La Land’s least predictable component is the way it ends. Rather than Mia and Seb making up and finding success together, they achieve their success apart and never rekindle their romance. Instead, we see them each achieving their dreams and acknowledging each other via a chance encounter when Mia and her husband discover Seb’s jazz club. The audience is given a glimpse of what could have been, had everything worked out perfectly for them as a couple, but the film ends back in reality, where they are happy for each other and go on with their lives.
This ending is so strong because it’s the most true-to-life aspect of the film. Life doesn’t always work out the way you want it to. Life isn’t perfect. The pursuit of perfection is foolish, because perfect is the enemy of the good. The strength and maturity to recognize that are two of the most important qualities we can obtain, because it gives us enough perspective to give up on the pieces of life we may be pursuing that are dragging us down. I like that this film ends with both characters having moved on in confidence and that they both respect each other’s achievement independent of themselves. That’s real love. It’s just a shame that we didn’t get to see them go through that. Both Stone and Gosling have the chops to act through that journey.
FINAL RATING: 3.25 out of 5
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