Review: La La Land- Singing Seasons

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Two years ago, the young director and screenwriter Damien Chazelle presented Whiplash: In Search of Perfection and got everyone's attention. It was an independent feature, made with few resources and in a short time, it was visceral and very well executed, it was not by chance that it won three Oscars (Supporting Actor, Editing and Sound Mixing). Chazelle was a promise and proves in La La Land - Singing Stations (La La Land) that the previous feature was not beginner's luck, he now really shows that he is one of the most talented directors in American cinema.

The story takes place in Los Angeles and follows Mia (Emma Stone), a young aspiring actress, and sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a frustrated jazz pianist. What starts as a chance meeting in traffic turns into a love story in which both will learn that they must follow their dreams, but there will be sacrifices that must be made to achieve their goals.

The story of the feature is very simple in fact, there are not many twists during the plot and the conflict is basic, but it is a very well written, current and sophisticated script. As the movie focuses all the time with Mia and Sebastian, it's up to them to hold the narrative and they do it very well. In addition to being well written, both are very charismatic and believable characters. And the most interesting thing is that they are very different characters: while Mia is smiling, charming and optimistic, Sebastian is moody, cynical and antisocial. Even though these characters are classic archetypes of classic Hollywood, Chazelle (who signs the script) creates a love story so honest that you can't help but empathize with the characters.

Continuing in the script, it is noticeable that there are comments from Chazelle himself and that he put some of his frustrations on the protagonist couple. In Mia there is a certain disillusionment, a doubt about whether or not he will get a career in Hollywood, which Chazelle must have gone through, but in Sebastian the frustration is even greater for being a classical jazz pianist and currently being a little known genre. The jazz commentary had already been made in Whiplash and is repeated, however in La La Land it can even be interpreted as a commentary on the cinema itself, since the director is making a musical in the style of classic Hollywood, a genre that today is considered less “popular”. Another interesting point of the script is how it always reminds us that we are watching a movie, but the context is very believable, which makes it easy for the average viewer to create a relationship with what is happening on screen. A very smart script.

La La Land
La La Land: Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone

If Chazelle already demonstrates a great talent in writing, her work in the direction is exquisite, mainly in the musical numbers. Starting with the first ten minutes, we are presented with the great Another Day In The Sun, that serves not only to remind us that it's a musical, but also to understand what kind of musical it is. La La Land is a great homage to the classic musicals of the 50's and 60's like Dancing in the rain and Love sublime love, so the musical numbers are long and beautifully choreographed. As the director decided to shoot in CinemaScope (the viewer will notice that the screen resolution is different when they see it), he uses wide shots to show the entire environment and all the dancers' choreography and Chazelle masterfully directs the numbers. They are visually wonderful - in fact, the Academy has an obligation to award the film's cinematography and production design work, both the sets and lighting are incredible - agile (masterful editing of Tom Cross, the same as Whiplash), fun and very exciting. If you notice the film's camera work, she practically dances along with the characters. It's a production that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible and with the best possible resolution.

Speaking of music, the soundtrack is beautiful. Still on the basis of jazz, as in Chazelle's previous work, Justin Horowitz creates a track that is very pleasant to listen to and that brings all the feeling of a certain number. The lyrics are also great, they're not obvious and they're very sincere, saying a lot about the characters. And for those who don't have much patience with musicals, you can rest assured, because in less than two hours of projection La La Land has a maximum of five or six musical numbers. The characters do not sing their dialogue and there is an interval between each number, which naturally enters the film.

The cast in general is very good, but the highlight is Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Gosling has always done more introspective and closed types and is perfect for the role of Sebastian, always looking down, with an antisocial way, soft-spoken and few mannerisms. And he has exceptional chemistry with Emma Stone, they complement each other on screen. Since I mentioned Stone, she proves to be the big star of the film. Your Mia is simply passionate, the actress shows that she has screen presence, is very expressive and contains a huge charisma. Stone has a very pleasant voice when he sings, unlike Ryan Gosling (not that he sings badly like Russell Crowe in The miserable, the tone of voice is not the most pleasant, but nothing that gets in the way of the film).

Anyway, La La Land: Singing Stations really deserves all the accolades and awards he is winning. In addition to being a film of impeccable execution, great performances and beautiful music, it is material made with honesty and passion by Damien Chazelle, who shows that he is a director who deserves respect, if at 31 he makes a production like this, imagine what he can do in the future.

La La Land: Singing Stations opens on January 19 in Brazilian cinemas.

Text written by João Pedro Gibran

See the technical sheet and complete cast of La La Land

 

 

 

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