'La La Land'

In cinemas now!

Mia (Emma Stone) is a struggling actress balancing working in a movie studio coffee shop with an unsuccessful slew of auditions. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is an extremely talented but cocky musician obsessed with jazz to the point that his passion for the genre keeps him from holding down a steady job as a pianist providing mood music to the diners in a restaurant.

On the verge of giving up on their dreams the two find each other and their relationship spurs them on to bigger and better things even as that future threatens to tear the two of them apart. What comes next is a story of romance, ambition and the struggle to realise your dreams that won’t fail to move you.​

I didn’t love this movie as much as the awards circuit seems to have but it is extremely good. A stunning combination of visuals, subtle yet extravagant performances, and great music. It’s a clear throw back to a seemingly forgotten era of musicals; where the songs are more than just fun asides, they’re an expression of the emotion of the scene and characters before you.

Long takes and occasional surreal set pieces with no desire to explain themselves are a staple of the old school musical and this film is a masterfully effortless addition to the genre that never feels out of place. Harking back to a style of filmmaking I was never overly a fan of is probably why this film didn’t strike a hundred percent with me, but don’t let that put you off. I’m not much for musicals and I still thought this was great.

You won’t fail to feel for Mia and Seb, which is good because the film is pretty much just them in front of the camera, and whilst the story is a love letter to film and music to some degree it’s portrayal of the harsh reality of those worlds for struggling artists has just the right amount of dramatic emphasis.

​It’s too early to say if I loved this film enough to guarantee it a place in my top ten of the year, but that seems to put me in the minority and I concede that really liking this film is probably the lowest opinion most can have of it. There’s not a lot else to say, you should definitely go see this movie if you have even the slightest inclination, and not just because it’s going to be the big thing everyone is talking about for the rest of the year, though it clearly is.

Review by Kristian Mitchell-Dolby.

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