La La Land takes us back to Hollywood’s glory days
The last big Hollywood musical in recent memory was Moulin Rouge, a jukebox style production written and directed by the king of excess Baz Luhrman. It won two Oscars for costume design and art direction, but failed to get the nomination for Best Song because its only original song was composed for Romeo + Juliet and not Moulin Rouge.
There have been other somewhat smaller recent musicals, of course. Julie Traymor’s Across the Universe comes to mind. But while these musicals have original stories, the music, the emotional highlights of the film, all come from different sources, like the Beatles or Elton John.
Of course, I love both the Beatles and Elton John, but jukebox musicals have always seemed like cheating. The non-jukebox musical films in the last few years have been film adaptations of stage productions. The original Hollywood musical, films like Singin’ in the Rain and The Wizard of Oz have all but vanished from productions schedules. Sometime after 1970, the audience just wasn’t there.
2016’s La La Land may change that. It’s almost certainly one of the most original films in a decade, with terrific performances and excellent music. The film is a modern return to Hollywood past, and a welcome one at that. As with most musicals, the film tells a simple love story. It’s a boy meets girl romance across a city of stars.
Opening with a homage to optimism in L.A. traffic, we meet Mia and Sebastian, struggling dreamers in the City of Angels. Mia (Emma Stone) works at a coffee shop on a movie lot and spends her spare time going to auditions where she’s largely ignored and interrupted. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a jazz true believer, a man angered at the rebranding of a jazz club to a samba tapas bar (“L.A. worships everything and values nothing,” he says.), who spends his time playing Christmas tunes for tips.
The two meet cute as Sebastian is getting fired for deviating from his set list. They begin a whirlwind romance through Southern California’s most famous locations. They encourage each other’s dreams and support each other’s aspirations until reality and circumstance force them into opposite corners. It’s a typical romance for this genre, although this genre is anything but typical in the world of superheroes and sequels (and superhero sequels.)
But the story itself isn’t where the film shines. The beauty of the film also doesn’t quite rest in its music, although the songs are certainly entertaining. It’s the direction, with its long tracking shots and careful edits, that breathes an abundant life in the film. It gives the illusion of live theater, without sacrificing the power and magic of film.
There is a heart and beauty in the film that would likely be lost in stage production. The nuanced moments of the film would work anyone sitting in the balcony but are communicated exquisitely on the big screen. Still, vocal performances aren’t as strong as they could be. The problem with Hollywood musicals is that they require Hollywood actors, who aren’t well known for their singing prowess. Even classics like Guys and Dolls forced a singing Marlon Brando on the world, shuffling Frank Sinatra to a lesser role. Decisions aren’t always made for musical reasons.
This isn’t to say that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling aren’t adequate in their roles. But those that are used to musical performances from Broadway actors will find the voices of the leads somewhat weak. Stone fares better than Gosling in this regard, but Gosling makes up for this shortcoming by having learned to play jazz piano for the role, a skill that will frustrate any real musician to no end as Gosling is already infuriatingly attractive. That he’s also quite musically talented is a bridge too far.
The film was written and directed by Damien Chazelle, who also directed and the exceptional Whiplash. With La La Land, he’s created a film experience not to be missed for anyone who loves musicals. I dare anyone to leave this film without a smile on their face. Hollywood is severely lacking in original films. Hopefully, La La Land will be the success that encourages studios to take more risks. Even if it isn’t, at least film fans got this one.