I Finally Got Around to Seeing... La La Land

This is one of those times, that Kent and I (well, mostly Kent), have come up with a new segment for the blog. In this one, David (or Graig, if he should so feel) writes about a movie that has been on That List for a long time. Sometimes a long long long time, but usually just a long time. And they have finally gotten around to seeing it.

2016, Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) -- Netflix

Chazelle set the bar with his first movie Whiplash. Its an intense flick about a jazz drummer and his ego-maniacal instructor. If anything the movie was about being pure to the artform, and he follows up with another movie about Jazz and being the best you can be. But this time he slides the ideal under the trappings of a 40s style musical set against the backdrop of Hollywood.

This was raved about everywhere, from the Oscars to everyone I spoke to. I am not a huge fan of musicals, but I guess I am somewhat a purist myself, as I expect a certain 40s style & flare from them. While I enjoyed the movie incredibly, I am not entirely sure I got what I wanted from it. Definitely this is an incredible creation, a movie of beauty and style and unwavering attention to detail. But was it an incredible musical? Of that, I am not sure. Maybe I need to be exposed to the more current crop of musicals to properly judge.

The movie begins with an introductory piece about the setting, about LA, about the sun and the traffic and the colour. The dance piece is vibrant and exciting and sets the tone for the movie to follow. Or at least it should have. I found the first two musical pieces, which were big numbers, cast to stand apart from the rest of the movie. They were Busby Berkeley where the rest of the movie was Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers. But Chazelle uses these pieces to introduce to Mia (Emma Stone), a classic girl from a small town in LA to become an actor, frustrated at her lack of success. It is this lacking that has her bump into Seb, a down on his luck jazz pianist -- down because he refuses to compromise. From their meeting the tone of the movie changes; the colours of the opening numbers dispensed with for the most part, as Mia's vibrancy is muted by Seb's jazz hall shadowy tones.

This is a classic Hollywood love story. That is the plot that is wonderfully done and works perfectly. It's about the rise and the fall and the compromises and the realities of life. Mia wants to be an actress but doesn't have enough faith in herself. Seb does not shirk from his path, losing jobs and friends to his unwavering desire to ONLY do old style jazz. But meeting Mia, he convinces her to join him in the purity. But also for the sake of Mia, he decides to accept compromise. Thus their downfall.

Both the leads are completely convincing as the starlets of LA. Mia with her colourful flouncy dresses and Seb in his vintage car & clothes are charming and delightful. Seriously, just plug in all the smiley lovely adjectives you like. These are beautiful people being beautiful. The dance numbers are enthralling, even the jazz ones where I wondered whether anyone but a professional dancer could dance to the music. And that was how the inspirational movies were meant to be.

Despite my disappointment at the first two numbers, the plotting and skill the rest of the movie is done with more than makes this a perfect movie. And yeah, I am humming "City of Stars" every now and then...