La La Land
In LA, aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) and down on his luck jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) keep bumping into each other. La La Land follows their burgeoning relationship and attempts to follow their dreams whilst consistently bursting into song.
Around the release of Birdman I wrote something to the effect of "I think I'm falling for Emma Stone". She is a brilliant, charismatic screen presence and proves it again here, entirely believable as an actress struggling to get attention and frustrated by the business. She has a strong chemistry with Gosling as the slightly pompous and arrogant jazz snob desperate to bring a dying genre back to its feet and open his own club.
The underpowered opening number aside the songs are strong too, from Sebastian's captivating solo efforts to his performances with a band that are more Uptown Funk than freestyle jazz. Mia's audition piece towards the end of the film is the highlight though, a real emotive showstopper that will sweep even the grumpiest of cynics away. It's not difficult to imagine a Broadway adaptation and I'd be surprised if it wasn't already in the works.
Like a lot of musicals, the narrative takes the backseat to the score. For that reason it's not quite the five star award sweeping masterpiece the media would have you believe. Nonetheless La La Land is a joyous piece of nostalgic escapism. And lord knows we could use that at the moment.
Around the release of Birdman I wrote something to the effect of "I think I'm falling for Emma Stone". She is a brilliant, charismatic screen presence and proves it again here, entirely believable as an actress struggling to get attention and frustrated by the business. She has a strong chemistry with Gosling as the slightly pompous and arrogant jazz snob desperate to bring a dying genre back to its feet and open his own club.
The underpowered opening number aside the songs are strong too, from Sebastian's captivating solo efforts to his performances with a band that are more Uptown Funk than freestyle jazz. Mia's audition piece towards the end of the film is the highlight though, a real emotive showstopper that will sweep even the grumpiest of cynics away. It's not difficult to imagine a Broadway adaptation and I'd be surprised if it wasn't already in the works.
Like a lot of musicals, the narrative takes the backseat to the score. For that reason it's not quite the five star award sweeping masterpiece the media would have you believe. Nonetheless La La Land is a joyous piece of nostalgic escapism. And lord knows we could use that at the moment.
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