La La Land is a great movie, a visual delight, an artistic masterpiece.
The opening scene immediately tells you that this film is something new, something original, something beautiful. There is a traffic jam on a Los Angeles freeway ramp. Traffic is at a standstill. Everyone is frustrated. Then someone gets out of her car and starts dancing. Tens of other people follow flash mob style until there is a full scale musical number happening between, on top of, and all around the cars. The colors are captivating, the dancing delightful and lively. Director Damien Chazelle has taken a situation that everyone finds extremely frustrating and turned it into a beautiful work of art. I turned to my husband and said, "That was adorable." And that was just the beginning.
Finally, at the end of the number, the two main characters, Sebastian and Mia, played by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, exchange looks as Sebastian honks his horn at the distracted Emma.
In many movie experiences there is a favorite scene or some particular event that's portrayed especially well, and one will look back and think how they loved that part. In La La Land every scene is like that. Every scene.
Damien Chazelle, the young director and writer of the original screen play, has artfully used innovative techniques to present a colorful, gorgeous film that tugs at the heartstrings. Every scene is an experience of color, light against dark, captivating music, and beautiful cinematography. Seeing it a second time just made me appreciate it all the more. This is a film that, in my humble opinion, has been made by a master.
Parents should know that there is virtually no sexual content, although there is implied cohabitation. Very mildly implied. Children might well miss it. There is one obscene gesture and perhaps one F-word. For a rating of PG-13, this is a pretty innocent movie.
The music is wonderful. The cinematography is amazing, almost mesmerizing. The acting superb. What a delight to see a movie that is so skillfully and beautifully crafted and also quite wholesome, uplifting, and entertaining.
I recommend you see it. More than once.
