Stone gained confidence from performing in Cabaret to handle the demands of the film. He conceived the film when he was a student at with his classmate. Save for a major upset, La La Land will win the Academy Award for Best Picture in February 2017 — not because it should — but because it absolutely must. Here, and throughout the film, he works in long, unbroken takes. Mia overhears him playing as she passes by. It's an awesome example of how daring some of those old musicals really were.
Chazelle similarly avoids making La La Land come off as a kitschy salute to old-fashioned musicals by carefully handling the film's tonal shifts from scene to scene. I was immediately invested in the characters and cried for a majority of the second half. After graduating, both moved to Los Angeles in 2010 and continued writing the script, but made a few modifications, such as altering the location to Los Angeles instead of Boston. On the surface, this is a love story about two artists trying to make their ways in Los Angeles. Sebastian begins to perform regularly at a jazz club, and the two move in together. Depending on how life has treated you, its final moments will be either devastating or irrecoverably shattering. La La Land's exploration of tradition vs.
And after the chorus-like introduction to a city of dreamers, we meet two such sun-gazers: pianist Sebastian and actress Mia. This suggests that the film's director, similar to La La Land itself, has a strong handle on how to keep one foot in the past, while still looking ahead and moving into the future. Chazelle sets the stage magnificently, with a bright, candy-colored assist from production designer David Wasco and costume designer Mary Zophres. These may be lapses of vision or technique, but they are also a clear testament to the extraordinary reach of Chazelle's ambitions. Gosling's charm has always been predicated on a measure of self-mockery, an awareness of his own ridiculously dreamy beauty, and his performance here is a marvel of sly one-liners and raised eyebrows as well as smoothly executed glissandos.
The scene was originally planned for a stretch of ground-level highway, until Chazelle decided to shoot it in the 105—110 interchange, which arcs 100 feet 30 m in the air. During a gig at a restaurant, Sebastian slips into a jazz improvisation despite warnings from the owner to only play songs from a traditional Christmas setlist. Sebastian takes Mia to a jazz club, describing his passion for jazz and his desire to open his own club. However, the production team was able to secure permission to use it for a day. You must go to it. In preparation for her role, Stone watched some of the musical movies that inspired Chazelle, including and collaborations.
Gosling shines as a prickly Jazz purist, who conceals his emotions while Stone stands out as the sparkly girl, whose eyes speak a million words. British Board of Film Classification. During its 128 minute running time, the only time I wanted to look away from the screen was to turn to the people around me and check and see if they were experiencing the same kind of magic that I was. La La Land is just much less angry about it. Simmons, who won an Oscar playing the music instructor from hell, makes an amusing cameo here as a jazz-hating philistine. After crossing paths enough times, the two start to fall in love. He's also happy to support Mia's goals.
Perhaps the look and feel are what bring out the melancholy in the film's story. Watson dropped out because of a commitment to the , while Teller departed via long contract negotiations. Mia is kind, authentic, and determined to achieve her dreams. During the band's first tour, Mia and Sebastian get into an argument; she accuses him of abandoning his dreams, while Sebastian claims she liked him more when he was unsuccessful. Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. That night, Mia's roommates take her to a lavish party in the , promising her that someone in the crowd could jump-start her career; but she is forced to walk home in disappointment after her car is towed.
Mia is unwilling to forgive Sebastian for missing the play and ends their relationship. Since Gosling and Stone were not primarily dancers, the two made a number of mistakes, especially during long uninterrupted single-take musical numbers. One particular night at a restaurant, Sebastian goes off the set of Christmas songs given to him and plays a beautiful jazz piece instead. It stars and and has plenty of frothy, whimsical moments, plus messages about integrity, love, and following your dreams. Chazelle asked the two about their audition disasters when they were both trying to make it. La La Land is also an ode to Los Angeles; the city unfurls in all its Technicolor glory.
After Whiplash was well received by critics upon its premiere at the in January, Chazelle continued his efforts to bring La La Land to the big screen. The pair gradually begin to form a relationship as they connect with one another over their passions and dreams, proving to be kindred spirits despite their initial differences. The film was choreographed by. Both actors impress with their singing and dancing abilities and, in Gosling's case, piano playing , allowing Chazelle to further showcase their talents through the frequent use of extended takes and long shots. How does it compare to other movie romances? And, paired together, they're the star-crossed lovers that a film like this richly deserves. Fortunately, Chazelle never looks down on the audience with these ideas.
Advertisement Of course, it helps that Gosling and Stone have the kind of star power that made so many of those classic era musicals memorable. The underlying conflict between hopes, wishes and reality never seemed so real. Not only does it visually allude to films such as Singin' in the Rain and The Band Wagon, but it also preserves the upbeat, wondrous tone of those classics. After a bad day at work, Mia's subsequent audition goes poorly when the casting director takes a call in the middle of an emotional scene. The band finds success, but Mia attends one of their concerts and realizes that this is not the type of music Sebastian wants to perform.
Sebastian misses Mia's play due to a band photo shoot that he had forgotten about. It would be easy to diminish Mia as a bright-as-a-button type, but Stone spools through many colours, from luminous to spirited to distraught — her wistful rendition of ballad Audition The Fools Who Dream written for the film will be murdered by X Factor contestants for years to come. And not just new, but also heartbreakingly wise we can't say much more for fear of spoilers. Following the success of his 2014 film , the project was picked up by. To watch Stone and Gosling break into a spontaneous tap routine against a pink-hued Hollywood sunset, or waltz in mid-air against a starry replica of the Griffith Observatory's famed planetarium, is to be reminded anew of how rarely they make 'em like they used to. Chazelle decided to make his characters somewhat older, with experience in struggling to make their dreams, rather than younger newcomers just arriving in Los Angeles.