The movie season of 2016-2017 nearly collapsed under the weight of the sensation that was La La Land. Who can forget the now-infamous Oscars flub, when the award for best picture was mistakenly given to La La Land instead of the chosen winner, Moonlight? Between an explosion of passion from fans of musical films and the non-stop uproar of publicity that followed this movie, it became genuinely difficult to not see this movie while the buzz was active.
La La Land captures something special and specific, a shapeless passion that seems to tug at the heartstrings a little stronger when love is on the mind. The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone (arguably at her career-best) is a tension that fills every room that the two occupy, bringing an atmosphere of desperation and longing to all their scenes. Those unforgettable musical numbers seem to leap off the screen and invigorate the part of the mind that yearns for a free and uncynical love. And that ending—that jaw dropping release of the story—has become the stuff of legend. Here's what makes La La Land the perfect love story.
Two Deeply Confused Leads
It’s immediately established that neither Mia nor Sebastian know how to get what they want out of life, which makes them immediately relatable. Sebastian, whose passions have led him to unsatisfying work as a jazz pianist, yearns for an audience that appreciates everything captivating about old school jazz. His life is spent oscillating between people and professions who can't uphold and celebrate his own love for his craft. Mia, on the other hand, subjects herself to endless auditions in front of uncaring executives who repeatedly fail to see her talent. Her time is spent chasing the promise that one breakthrough for a role could transform her career. Together, their confusion compounds to the detriment of their careers, where both of them lose the peace of creative expression and become overwhelmed by the demands of their relationship.
The film strikes a careful balance between showing how their separate passions for art compound joyfully in each other's presence, and showing how the same process becomes an insurmountable roadblock. Understanding that a source of joy can also be a source of pain is what makes the film's exploration of love feel so harrowing and true to life.
A Natural Romance for Life
La La Land is a movie about a romance but not just a romance between people—it’s a romance for life, for seeking one’s calling, and for the romance of old Hollywood (La La Land itself is a common nickname for Los Angeles). The city is almost its own character in this film, a vibrant backdrop to the interactions between Mia and Seb that breathes with them, promising them the chance at ultimate happiness for their careers and romantic experiences. Though their relationship takes center stage, the film is also occupied with questions about the nature of making art and giving your heart to your passion. What does it mean to express oneself creatively and honestly? An extended side plot about pop music feeling dishonest to Seb reveals the difficulty he experiences with his own beliefs about creation and the spirit of jazz music. The viewer's perspective is aligned with a confused Seb, unable to find a place for himself in an unwelcoming environment.
When these characters experience love, whether together or separately, they leave behind their inhibitions and find a certain peace for themselves and their place in the world. It's romantic to love another person, but it's equally romantic in its own way to experience the joy of being alive. Romantic movies can manage to reach above their station and comment on the larger phenomenon of romance—one of La La Land's greatest strengths.
The Heightened Emotion of a Musical Number
The musical movie is almost a lost art. They were a popular genre in the early 20th century, but only a few of these films have made waves in modern memory. Damien Chazelle, the director of the film, held a long fascination with old musical movies like Singing in the Rain and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. His vision for the musical numbers in La La Land is the element that lifts a well-told romance story toward a visceral, indulgent painting of sensations about love. Musical numbers take place completely out of context, and for those not familiar with them, they can seem out of place. They are a suspended reality, an imagined space for song and dance where characters can release emotions in a heightened form of expression. It's very difficult not to be carried by the tunes of Another Day of Sun or A Lovely Night, and when the rhythm and melody take root in the mind, the viewer becomes swept up in the same sensations as the characters. Song and dance is a perfect fit for themes about love—people who have felt love can attest that it’s a joyous, freeing feeling that can limit one’s inhibitions and let them celebrate without cynicism.
A Bittersweet End
As a musical movie, it’s easy to assume that there’s very little “realistic” about the film. What makes this such a powerfully affecting love story is the end: Mia and Seb part ways, find their passions, and reunite in an imagined embrace, having to acknowledge that their separation was necessary for their growth. In a stunningly choreographed and shot epilogue, the two indulge in the vision of the life they could have had if the success of their passions hadn’t interrupted the success of their love. The last musical number is a masterful moment of catharsis, drawing the viewer in to an emotional landscape of unimaginable joy and unbearable pain. It’s a moment that hits the viewer like a truck, opening them to the reality that love persists in forms that people never expect or seek.