SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
THIS MOTION PICTURE IS OFFICIALLY AN AFFILIATE OF THE FILMMAKING PARAGONS.
What if Hollywood's Golden Era retained its status in the 21st century? What if a musical has durable story? What is it like to have reality & dream coexist? Welcome to La La Land!
Damien Chazelle establishes the type of film you're to watch from the opening sequence itself. See, no one dances happily in a traffic jam. But when it is shown so and immediately shifts back to a gridlocked street with agitated drivers in cars, you get the idea that this is going to be a reality-dream merging musical. And the blend is perfect & smooth! This is because the songs are transitions, not disturbances. It lubes & facilitates the narration. Also, the arrangement of the screenwriting is expertly done. One instance would be how it travels back to a common point of contact to tell what the other lead character was up to before the both meet! Sound scenes would be the heated argument at the dining table & Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) fervidly reinstates Mia's (Emma Stone) opinion on Jazz music. These are elements that nurture a healthy screenplay.
Be it when Mia (Emma Stone) listens to 'escalator-music' stereotyped Jazz louder than the words people are speaking for the first time, or when she's pushed back further away from Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) in the crowd due to overnight fame, the script for this gorgeous telenovela makes one go "Aww" with its sweet metaphors! This is what we call true storytelling from a cinema's standpoint: Telling a story through moving pictures.
When we talk about technical superiority, it's only sometimes about the big things, but it is always about the small ones. Sound design, raw. Mixing, seamless. Graphical props, amazing use. Songs picturizations, whether it's the astronomical 'Planetarium', euphoric 'City of Stars', nostalgic 'Mia & Sebastian's Theme', symphonic 'Someone in the Crowd', electronic 'Start a Fire', symmetrical 'Another Day of Sun' or romantic 'A Lovely Night' are all very fantastical, natural & flashy, all at once! Such organized choreography too!
This motion picture has one of the rarest occasions, where choreography has been implemented not only for the dances, but the cinematography & colours as well! The reds and the blues, the usage is whimsical! The spot-free photography is orgasm to the eyes! Not only that, the camera lets us know where our eyes should be focused on, at the slightest subtlety. The empty 'Reserved' seat is an example. Lighting, is amazeballs!
If there are any nit-picky complaints, it would be few interactional dialogues that are rather awkward, particularly the ones that take place before the duet prior sunset. Speaking of awkwardness, it is a question how the couple was able to go into Griffith Observatory at an odd hour without even a security guard's presence in or outside of the building. It would be best if Damien could leave behind the jazz hangover to prevent similarities from his first to the rest.
As much as this movie is about the beautiful blossoming romance between our two extremely good personas, it is also a tribute to passion, similar to the director's Whiplash. It is about not settling for anything that's lesser than your passion, told in a practical, motivating & truthful manner. From a pair of struggling artists to a swift change of status in 5 years, both are successful in the careers they've pursued. But along the path, sacrifices & promises had to be made. The nod they exchanged at the end signifies those. Dreams, achieved. Paths, separated. Hearts, break a little. Life could have taken a different route, turning up A-Z as how they've wanted it to be. But it is only a fairy tale wish which real life will never be able to afford. Now we know why the film is named, La La Land.