La La Land opens with a single long take, going past several cars in gridlock on an offramp to L.A. The audio treats us to the music playing on their radios. Then, one of the drivers starts singing, and the people emerge from their cars, joining in a big crowd song & dance number, the title flashing on screen as they finish.
Quite frankly it's amazing that this kind of film even got made. Not only the fact that it's a modern movie musical, but it's one that's wholly original, being neither an adaptation of a previously successful Broadway show (as 2014's Into the Woods) not a jukebox of familiar songs (as was the panned Walking on Sunshine). And not only that, but it's a deliberate throwback to classic movie musicals like Singin' in the Rain,Top Hat, and On the Town. The leads have a dance right out of a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rodgers flick.
The plot and main characters are fairly simple. An aspiring actress and a hopeful jazz pianist meet cute in L.A. and try to progress their careers and their relationships. If the characters sound stock, they kind of are. If they're engaging, it's more because of relatability and earnestness (particularly on the part of Emma Stone's character). However, the simplicity doesn't prove a detriment, which allows the film to be an elegant but surprisingly down-to-earth throwback.
Other viewers may roll their eyes at the nostalgia-tripping, as this is indeed a Hollywood movie about Hollywood movies, not as dissimilar from the likes of Hugo or The Artist as it might appear at a first glance. Still, if you don't mind movies like that, it's more than worth a watch.
And while I told you all about the film's opening, I'm not going to spoil the ending, except to say that the film's finale is staggering.
Old Hollywood Magic
La La Land opens with a single long take, going past several cars in gridlock on an offramp to L.A. The audio treats us to the music playing on their radios. Then, one of the drivers starts singing, and the people emerge from their cars, joining in a big crowd song & dance number, the title flashing on screen as they finish.
Quite frankly it's amazing that this kind of film even got made. Not only the fact that it's a modern movie musical, but it's one that's wholly original, being neither an adaptation of a previously successful Broadway show (as 2014's Into the Woods) not a jukebox of familiar songs (as was the panned Walking on Sunshine). And not only that, but it's a deliberate throwback to classic movie musicals like Singin' in the Rain, Top Hat, and On the Town. The leads have a dance right out of a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rodgers flick.
The plot and main characters are fairly simple. An aspiring actress and a hopeful jazz pianist meet cute in L.A. and try to progress their careers and their relationships. If the characters sound stock, they kind of are. If they're engaging, it's more because of relatability and earnestness (particularly on the part of Emma Stone's character). However, the simplicity doesn't prove a detriment, which allows the film to be an elegant but surprisingly down-to-earth throwback.
Other viewers may roll their eyes at the nostalgia-tripping, as this is indeed a Hollywood movie about Hollywood movies, not as dissimilar from the likes of Hugo or The Artist as it might appear at a first glance. Still, if you don't mind movies like that, it's more than worth a watch.
And while I told you all about the film's opening, I'm not going to spoil the ending, except to say that the film's finale is staggering.