I will be honest: upon my first viewing of this musical, I was so disappointed with the ending. I thought that it was a miserable shame that two people who so deeply loved each other didn’t even get to end up together. I never watched the musical again, though I love the vivid colors and the exquisite cinematography (along with the witty lines). But, when I watched it just last night with a few friends, I found myself enveloped in its whimsy and I realized how good the ending truly was.
For one, La La Land is a movie that you should watch because of the originality that this musical possesses. I won’t lie: most of the time I find musicals to be extremely corny. But, La La Land does a good job at making the musical feel normal. By that, I mean that it didn’t feel random that there are people just randomly bursting into song, singing at the top of their lungs with their jugular veins making their appearance, and the veins in their forehead waving the audience hello.
I like that the singing was very regular because it felt real. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are not professional singers, but they can sing like how I can sing: just on an average level. I liked that Gosling and Stone had average, quotidian voices instead of shell-shocker pipes. It made the musical feel more believable.
More than that, I absolutely love, love, love the writing. The scripting was spectacular with witty lines, pragmatic dialogue, and exciting revelations of the main characters. I liked how they made Gosling’s character, Sebastien, so nonchalant about everything but his dreams. I also like how they made Stone’s character, Mia, have a witty sense of humor but also a lot of emotional depth. The way that the writers wrote Sebastien and Mia’s blossoming friendship, which then flourished into a lovely romance, was exceptional. Mia and Sebastien’s personality were written with a compatible air, but their characters were incompatible for the relationship they both wanted.
The script was so original, even the title was intentional. When people say they are in la la land, that means they are in a state of dreams; Sebastien and Mia are living in L.A., the land of just that. They are hoping that they can fulfill their dreams and pursue their purpose here, and it may seem foolish to those around them but they are still going to live in La La Land and make their dreams come true (and they did). There has not been a film with that much authenticity and originality released in a really long time. La La Land may be studied in classes for years to come. It was that good.
What’s another reason that it was so good, you may ask? The color theory. The film was insanely intentional with the vibrant colors utilized in the film and the seasons that it coordinated with. Mia is always wearing blue in the winter and it’s because she is also very blue in the winter. She is working as a barista, she is failing her auditions, and she is in a standstill with her dreams. But, in lovely spring, she wears a bright yellow dress and reencounters Sebastien, who is dressed in a red leather jacket with yellow pants.
The different colors for different seasons represent so much. The yellow in spring represents starting something new. Mia meets Sebastien and they build a connection, and as they get together the colors become more vibrant and bright.
Furthermore, the cinematography was just amazing. The focus on certain shots, the swivel of the camera during the iconic scene where Mia dances to Sebastien’s piano playing, and the unique lighting of certain shots were truly incredible. The camera told us a story with its eye: it made the trumpet open a door to a different future for Mia and Sebastien and it made the sunset color just for them.
More than anything else, though, the theme of this film was remarkable. I loved how the seasons were mentioned because it shows the term in which some people are meant to be in our lives. Sebastien and Mia would have never worked out as a couple. They both had their dreams that were leading them in different directions. But, they were necessary to bring each other the hope that they needed to make their dreams come true. Sebastien was the one who told Mia about the director who wanted her in her film. Mia was the one who encouraged Sebastien to pursue his dream of owning a jazz club and calling it “Seb’s” with a music note as the apostrophe. They were in each other’s lives for all four seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall, and winter again. But, they were never meant to remain there. They were only meant to help each other pursue their dreams.
In the end, she married a good guy, had a daughter, and became a well-off actress. Sebastien ended up owning his own jazz club, keeping true to his dream of spreading traditional jazz. They both see each other in the ending scene after Mia imagines what it would all be like if things went differently, and at the end of the day, they both smile at each other knowing that they did what was best. They were both happy with themselves and their lives, and they realized that it would not have ever happened if it weren’t for each other.
It was a wonderful film with a powerful testament to people we have in our lives. Some things really aren’t meant to last forever. Some things are supposed to teach you a lesson and help you grow into who you were meant to be. The musical’s heart-warming meaning, the wonderful cinematography, the delightful use of color theory, and the lovely script made La La Land a movie that you have to watch.