To say that La La Land has
generated a lot of hype is to hugely understate the excitement that
followed the release of this film earlier this year. With 14 nominations
and 6 wins at the Oscars in February, Hollywood agreed (though perhaps
not to the extent some were initially predicting - the clean sweep did
not happen and Ryan Gosling got no award). Every year it seems which ever film is the big release is predicted a clean sweep - never ever happens though.
The film's title is a neat play on
words - the telling a tale set in Los Angeles in a whirlwind of
excitement and pastel-colour flourishes that's dizziness-inducing for
its doe-eyed wannabies. It's a story that's as old as the film industry
itself, Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) are Hollywood hopefuls looking for their big break. She
wants to create her own stage show. He wants to run his own jazz
club. It's a story and a style of film making that harks back to the
Hollywood golden age, with set-piece song-and-dance numbers, bold colours
and a love story between forged out of the fires of Singin' in the
Rain. One can see why the Hollywood establishment loved it so, its opening sequence revels in the outlandish prospect of choreographing a full-on dance number amongst the motionless traffic of a Californian freeway.
Though
I don't want to burst its bubble too harshly, I was not taken in by La
La Land anywhere near as much as I was hoping. It's a film with a very
distinct split between its acts. The opening act is 100% musical, but
the second half drifts in a very different direction. It's hard to
discuss this too much without spoilerising everything, but the story
drifts into territory that's a bit too real for my liking. It's very
difficult to come to terms with a shift in tone that sees us go from spinning dresses and
outlandish choreography to the harsh realities of seeing a romantic
relationship come under real world stress. Is this meant to be a
fantasy or not?
You could argue that the film
is an indictment of the Hollywood dream - that's it really is completely
'la la' in its unrealism, of course there can be no real happily ever
after when a relationship is based on singing a song together once under
moonlight. But I don't remember this happening to Gene Kelly and Debbie
Reynolds, so La La Land isn't really a throw back to the golden
age of 1950s Hollywood musicals. It is something else entirely. Is it more a 21st century reboot of
that genre? Well maybe - but you kind of have to end on a curtain close
and a kiss or the audience wants its money back. You don't go to a
musical for the realism after all. When you come around to this way of thinking the film has much less of a gloss attached to it.
Director
Damien Chazelle has very quickly become a Holywood darling. His
directorial and writing range extends across a wide range of genres in a
very short career to date. He could take his talents anywhere and into
any field. This I guess was his attempt to do a stage musical. The results are enjoyable in the extreme, but as a viewer you will either go with the 21st century spin or you won't. I didn't and I was left feeling rather flat by the entire final act. Given the film had so much Hollywood hype I could hardly believe to see it end on such a misstep.
I'm not upset, just disappointed.
