You often get a high when you have experienced something really good. It may be a hearty meal comprising you all time favourite dishes or experiencing a rare moment which stays with you in your mind forever in the years to come. It can even be experienced if you have watched an exceptionally good work of art.
Damien Chazelle’s award winning ‘La La Land’ falls into this category. You not only get carried away by the heart tugging storyline but it is mostly the music in this ace musical which takes your breath away. These numbers make your heart swell, which is what the best musicals do. And best of all it is a musical which makes us yearn for more musicals – rejuvenating a tradition of yesteryear Hollywood.
Close to home
The movie is pretty much about us – the audience living in the modern world. It is about what we have become due to the circumstances around us. It is more about the dream factory from which its title derives – Hollywood, LA. It is a place close to home yet so far at the same time.
He is a passionate jazz pianist and she is an aspiring actress and playwright. After a couple of false starts, chance encounters, long walks in the moonlight, clever banter and countless gazing into each others’ eyes, Mia and Sebastian realize that they have fallen for each other. Love takes them on a beautiful fantasy until reality brings them back onto the ground.
Mixing the feel good moments and the melancholic moments from the musical traditions is one of the most fascinating aspects of ‘La La Land’. You get a feel of hits like ‘Singin’ In The Rain, The Band Wagon’ and ‘Funny Girl, Oliver!’ fused with gloomy instances which remind you of ‘Chicago’ and ‘A Star is Born’. That gentle whistling, enchanting colours, old world mood, vintage styling and choreography of that magical melody sucked us into the world of ‘La La Land’ with ease.
Main attraction
Pairing Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone who scorched the screen together with their chemistry in ‘Crazy, Stupid Love’ was the main attraction which won the audience over. Their performances and chemistry is truly remarkable.
Shot by Linus Sandgren in Cinemascope ‘La La Land’ captures the scenic beauty of the city beautifully. Los Angeles has never looked so good, and neither have its many iconic, cinematic locations that the movie twists and twirls between.
La Land makes you think about the grand old staple of Hollywood - musicals again. However this time the productions have been jazzed up with technology, psychology and more. It takes our breath away and makes us want more.
‘La La Land’ is screening at Majestic Cineplex.
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