After its release in 2016, “La La Land” won a magnitude of different awards including seven Golden Globes and six Academy Awards. Although it is critically acclaimed, and its predominant genre is romance, this is not a film to watch with your Valentine.
The film highlights the story of two artists aspiring for big careers in Los Angeles. Mia Dolan, played by Emma Stone, is an aspiring actress making her living as a barista. Sebastian “Seb” Wilder, played by Ryan Gosling, is a jazz musician striving to prevent the music genre from dying by opening his own jazz club.
The viewer meets Seb in a time where he is struggling to support himself as a musician, and despite overdue bills, he continues to dream enthusiastically about plans for his jazz club. Just as music is an essential part of Seb’s character, it is also essential to the plot and thematic development of the story, providing more depth for the viewer.
The film opens with a large musical number set in the middle of LA traffic. The number, featuring the song “Another Day Of Sun,” makes it impossible for the viewer to escape from the film’s vibrant colors, complex choreography and upbeat sounds, completely submerging the audience into the story before even introducing the two main characters.
Additionally, since residents do not dance on top of cars in their day-to-day life, the action-packed first routine establishes the concept of the film’s musical numbers being the so-called imaginary “La La Land.”
Merriam-Webster defines the term la-la land as “a euphoric, dreamlike mental state detached from the harsher realities of life.” As the movie progresses, the audience is carried through more choreographed routines that serve to represent the dreamlike and detached mental state, each one becoming more elaborate than the last.
The second definition of the term by Merriam-Webster suggests the film’s title also represents a common nickname of its Los Angeles setting.
Another recurring musical motif included in the film’s dreamlike score is the piano piece “Mia & Sebastian’s Theme.”
The instrumental song plays throughout the movie as Mia and Seb’s connection grows. Mia first hears it outside a restaurant where Seb is playing, drawing her inside and sparking their first interaction.
The viewer then goes on a journey through the four seasons with the couple as they navigate challenging times in their separate careers and how to balance success with a relationship.
After a cliffhanger, the film concludes with the couple venturing into La La Land for a final time, which provides the viewer with a heart-wrenching alternate plot of the love story.
Bookending with Seb playing “Mia & Sebastian’s Theme” one last time, the track “Epilogue” underscores the film’s eight-minute alternate ending. The track weaves together the film’s melodies and uses them as connections to reimagine previous scenes.
If you want to spare yourself and your Valentine a bit of sadness and relationship insecurities, skip this movie for your date night. However, if you’re looking for a deeply relatable film depicting the harsh realities of relationships and the different ways they can end, open yourself up to the world of the fools who dream.
