La La Land was one of the most highly-acclaimed movies to come out of 2016, despite premiering near the end of the year. Director Damien Chazelle reportedly struggled to get this film off the ground due to it being one big homage to the Golden Age of Hollywood, with original music and much love towards the original big players of jazz. His efforts paid off, with a record of 14 Oscar nominations (though, infamously, it didn’t win Best Picture).
Despite all this, La La Land isn’t really offering anything new to the big screen. Of course, novelty isn’t especially important today- studios are churning out franchise reboot after franchise reboot and using the same basic formulas. But finally looking at this movie nine months later, it feels like the hype was overplayed. It isn’t bad, but a little too milquetoast in some aspects and trying too hard in others.
Mia (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress who feels the world is working against her auditions, falling for Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a jazz player bitter about the disrespect the traditional style gets who wishes to own his own jazz club. While the initial romance comes across as somewhat forced and inauthentic, it is subversive and somewhat inspiring to see them focus on their own success rather than remain stuck in dreams because it may be more attractive to their partner, and they do fulfill their dreams years after breaking up (though there is a sequence on “what could have been” in the finale).
The plot isn’t much less generic than your average Hallmark movie, just with a higher budget and a knack for visual effects. It has an interesting idea, adapting a 1920s-esque plot to the 21st century, but it plays it too straight rather than playing up the contrast between the dated style and the modern day. There is one subtle bit that shows how amusing this could be: after a jazzy dance with Sebastian, Mia’s smartphone begins ringing, and there is something funny about the old-fashioned musical number being punctuated by a modern-day ringtone.
There are implications in the story with which I don’t agree. Sebastian and his old friend Keith (John Legend) clash over the regressiveness of nostalgic value, as he prefers to adapt the jazz style into a modern pop sound. Sebastian is framed as in the right, but Keith has a point; nostalgia’s fine, but playing with art forms makes art more interesting and diverse, and it isn’t “selling out” to twist a genre to sound more modern. It’s especially concerning considering Keith is a black man and the jazz movement arose from the African American community. Having Sebastian’s knowledge of jazz appear more legitimate feels almost like whitewashing.
The music (composed by Justin Hurwitz with lyrics by Dear Evan Hansen’s Pasek and Paul) is catchy- “Somewhere in the Crowd” in particular was drilled into my head by the advertisements alone. The accompanying sequences are a mixed bag. The efforts to emulate Broadway-style choreography alongside the Broadway-style songs on the big screen are appreciated, though it never strikes quite as hard on film (though the opening number is very effectively Broadway-esque, and the ensemble dancing over traffic is a highlight of the film).
Despite Chazelle’s seven awards for his direction, some choices come across as gimmicky rather than meaningful. In one segment during the “Somewhere in the Crowd” musical number, the image of wine pouring into a glass creates a yellow frame along the edges of the screen, which lasts until Mia goes to the bathroom. She isn’t drunk or dazed, so it seems somewhat irrelevant and only added for the sake of artistry. Near the song’s end is an even more distracting visual: everyone at the party dances in sync, with the camera furiously spinning around them, blurring their dance. It isn’t clearly Mia’s perspective, since it’s shot from the perspective of the pool, and takes away focus from impressive choreography.
As for the singing, most characters convey the appropriate amount of energy, but Stone’s voice could stand to be a bit stronger; she sounds breathy and almost lethargic, which works with the hesitancy of her character but does not make for a very compelling soundtrack. This style works best for her solo, “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)”, a lovely ode to following your wildest whims.
Most effects are pretty or interesting to see, but drag a bit. The fantasy scene with Sebastian and Mia in the planetarium goes on for a little too long, and doesn’t showcase the dancing and effects as well as it could. The ending fantasy combines so many gimmicks in a short amount of time that the audience barely gets the time to appreciate each one individually.
It’s appropriate that the movie pits nostalgia against modernizing genres, because this film’s reliance on nostalgia is a weak point. It’s not particularly appealing if you don’t care for the Golden Age stylings, and even if you do, the editing and direction can be distracting. La La Land is a pleasant watch, but it’s as revolutionary as playing 20th century jazz in the 21st century.
2 thoughts on “La La Land Is Nostalgic..But Is It Much More?”
This whole piece is really well written and all your points are really well conceived and I commend you for that. I just have two, sort of, counter points on the review.
First, I really take umbrage with the whitewashing claim. Mainly, because whitewashing is still a thing that Hollywood needs to take seriously, and excessively calling things “whitewashing”, I feel, blunts the importance of that. (Ala, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf) It’s clear in the movie that John Legend was not cast because he’s black man (more likely because he’s a name, something that beyond Gosling and Stone the movie doesn’t have much of) and you could most definitely make an argument that his role was written as essentially race-neutral.
Furthermore, you could argue Gosling’s love of Jazz is meant to be juxtaposed with Stone’s admiration for older movies. It’s something that endears the characters to one another and allows them to empathize with their partner. It also humanizes Gosling’s character and provides much of his conflict for the movie. Plus, it’s a heck of an excuse to sing songs in the movie. I understand the point you’re making, but I believe that Gosling’s jazz is intended mostly for those purposes and less so to comment on the race relations of 21st Century jazz authenticity. Even if it were, I feel that falls more under the category of cultural appropriation and less so of whitewashing. (Which is traditionally, used mainly in terms of casting)
Secondly, I agree with you that the Oscar mega-hype might not have been deserved, but at the same time I don’t know if you’re giving some of the creative elements of the movie enough credit. Alot of the cinematography and costumes and set designs are fantastic. The soundtrack, on initial hearing isn’t very impactful, but it’s one of those things that really grows on you over time. (Especially underrated songs like “A Lovely Night” or “Start a Fire”) The use of score in this movie (namely, the precise decisions when to repeat, melodize, or distort certain refrains) is truly remarkable. And yes, the movie isn’t very plot proficient, but it’s final fifteen minutes, I would argue, showcased a plot point that could break your heart, (and innovatively so) as well as some of the best dialogue-free acting all year.
Again, really liked your article. Just some food for thought.
This was a wonderfully in depth review, and I commend you for that. Nearly all of your arguments were backed with specific details or evidence. I am a bit confused by your comment on the clash between Legend and Gosling’s characters being “concerning”, simply because Gosling’s opinion seems to be shown in the “right”. You argue that it is concerning that the film would question Legend’s character’s opinions on jazz, while being a black man himself. Legend’s race is not a determining factor on the quality of his argument- we should see the character’s opinions as both equally important, regardless of their skin color. Just as Legend’s character has the right to manipulate traditional jazz into a more modern style, a film which pays homage to the Golden Age of Hollywood also has the right to praise the traditional style of music with which it coincided.