When you think of the word “art”, what do you think of?
Maybe you think of classic artists like Picasso, Leonarda Da Vinci, or Van Gogh. Maybe you think of more contemporary artists like Eminem or Tarantino. We think of their greatest works, we think of Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver, the Mona Lisa, Starry Starry Night.
But when I think about art, I think about a black canvas. I think of a deserted street, flickering lights, and the eerie quiet of night. I think of a person, walking, isolated in the darkness, lost in their own thoughts.
To me, art was never about the final product. It was the process of getting there, the typing of words on a screen, the strokes of a paintbrush that came together to create something magical. And, for La La Land, it’s that scene with a deserted street and flickering lights heavily contrasting the bright and colorful imagery of the party scene. It’s the absolute beautiful cinematography and the skyline of Los Angeles in the background, but colored blue, reflecting the conflicted emotions of our main character Mia.
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La La Land is one of those movies that will be remembered as one of those wonderful, musical experiences, and rightfully so. Its opening number is full of magic, one that really sets the tone for the rest of the movie. It’s filled with old Hollywood magic, from the opening font, to the many instrumentals, to
ALL.
THAT.
COLOR.
Seriously, it’s like a damn unicorn took a rainbow dump all over this set. There’s green, there’s yellow, there’s dark blue, there’s red, and then there’s the color — corrected Hollywood filter. I can’t tell you how satisfying seeing genuine color being used in a scene after being treated to non-stop Hollywood grayscale felt. It felt like I was watching a movie for the first time, and being treated to the magical musical number of “Another Day In The Sun,” and the beautiful cinematography of (hilariously), the LA highway.
La La Land revels in scenes like this. Chazelle isn’t afraid to go completely fantastical, making the audience experience that magic that he felt when he first heard a concert, when he first saw a film. Chazelle wants to bring that magic to the audience, and for the most part, he succeeds in doing so. There were so many times that I had chills going down my spine as the music flared up and crescendoed into one of the most satisfying musical payoffs I’ve ever experienced.
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But La La Land would never have the special place in my heart if it was only a dumb fun musical — turned — film. Honestly, this kind of dumb fun, and quote on quote “insincere romanticization” of Hollywood is what that turned people in the first place. Musicals nowadays have a bad reputation nowadays because it’s deemed as something for privileged people, something that has good intentions but ultimately is irredeemably out of touch with modern issues. I would know. I spent the better half of my High School years hating on the people in my school musical, and it was this mentality that drove me away from the film in the first place.
But man, after finally watching it for the first time, it’s clear to me that this film represents so much more than the negative stereotypes make it out to be. The film’s intention has never been to romanticize Hollywood and to remind us of how shitty life is compared to these happy people. Instead, La La Land tells a story about two people with broken hearts, trying to mend each other, clinging on to those old childhood dreams of Hollywood. It’s a story about the pain of being an artist, a person who has so many ideas but has to face the reality that nobody cares. And they know this, know that they’ve failed a countless amount of times, but they can’t get rid of that hope, the childlike wonder that first led them to pursue such an ambitious career path.
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There’s one scene in particular that really stood out to me at around the beginning of the movie. At around 2 minutes in for the musical number “Someone in the crowd” Mia desperately and hilariously dodges everyone in order to go use the restroom. The pace is set as a wild joyride and a fun party, but as soon as she enters the bathroom, facing herself in the mirror, the mood completely changes.
“Is someone in the crowd the only thing you really see,
“Watching as the world keeps, spinning round…”
“Somewhere there’s a place where I find who I’m gonna be,
“A somewhere, that’s just waiting to be found..”
Mia walks out. The medley is tentative and soft, but it gradually increases speed. Around Mia are people slow dancing to the tempo, and as the music starts to speed up and get louder, their dance moves speed up as well. There’s a cut to Mia’s back as the trombones start to play, and the camera shows us a beautiful shot of the party. Mia leaves the frame, the crescendo hits its peak, and the original tempo is resumed.
There’s just so much about that scene that works, man, the isolation, Mia in the middle of the lane quite a ways separated from the other party members, the way it cuts hard to a quiet night sky and the tow-away sign. I could literally feel the disassociation from all the way on the screen. No full ground music, just the ambient sounds of the LA night. It’s visually stunning, and shows us the emptiness of Mia and the emotionless, uncaring city of Los Angeles.
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I could talk so much more about this film. I could talk about the way Damian Chazelle utilizes color, I could talk about Mia and Sebastian’s relationship, the way that the story leaves us with a bittersweet goodbye, a glance and a smile. I could talk about the fantastic musical numbers, but to me, La La Land is defined by this one single moment of isolation, a colorful party that you can never feel at home at, and the lonely walk along the empty streets of LA.
Thank you.
