First Take: La La Land- here’s to the fools who dream

SYPNOSIS: A jazz pianist falls for an aspiring actress in Los Angeles.

At just 31 years old, it’s incredible to think how much success that Damien Chazelle has had with his first two feature films. The most notable of these is 2014′s Whiplash- but now he’s back with another music-related film, and he is back with a bang.

Chazelle has crafted a very traditional Hollywood musical where romance and dreams form the main body of the narrative, and while it may be set in the modern day, the hallmarks of an era that has long since been forgotten about are there, and that is partially due to the excellent cinematography from Linus Sandgren that excellently uses the wider than usual 2:55:1 aspect ratio to its fullest. And when it comes to Chazelle’s direction, there isn’t much to fault, as he is able to pace the film just right, with the film clocking in at just under 2 hours 7 minutes- enough time to fit in a tonne of character development, musical numbers and most importantly a believable narrative.

Performance wise, both Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling put in some outstanding work as the very likable duo of Mia and Sebastian, with J.K Simmons reuniting with Chazelle in a smalller capacity than his role in Whiplash, and making his feature film debut is John Legend, who is surprisingly convincing at playing a fictionalised version of himself. But undoubtedly the real star of the show is the music, composed by Justin Hurwitz (with lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul), as the songs are ridiculously catchy- as I write this, City of Stars has just won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, and I will not be surprised if it takes the Oscar at the end of February. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this is a very impressive film to start a big year of cinema.

THE VERDICT

Chazelle has hit another master stroke for cinema in general- taking Hollywood back to its roots, La La Land is another film that will probably sweep the board at the awards next month. With a stripped back, more basic narrative, some great songs and a unique charm, this film deserves all the gold.

RATING: 5/5