Can a film impact people? Can a movie influence the way people think? Can characters revolutionise people’s perception of viewing things? Well, La La Land did for some of them out there. This romantic musical directed by Damien Chazelle stood out to be one of the very few films which ought to cross the expectations.
La La Land is about Sebastian Wilder, a jazz pianist who aspires to own a club to protect jazz from dying and Mia Dolan, a barista worker who dreams of becoming an actress. Despite their ups and downs, they keep trying to work towards achieving their dreams. During the process, their paths cross several times. Will they end up together? Will they get what they dreamt of? Or did they give up makes the major parts of the film?
The film doesn’t talk just about Sebastian’s or Mia’s dreams. It talks about everyone who sees themselves in a struggling position to get what they want. It stands on behalf of every individual striving to reach their goals.
Anyone who aspires to stand on their own and achieve something has two different lives. One life pushes one’s self to establish their mark and to dream and the other life helps in making the dream come true. One is the ambitious life and the other is the shadow of the ambitious life. This shadow contributes to getting what one wants while the ambitious side only focuses on the goal. At some point of life, Sebastian’s shadow self pulls him and consumes him to such an extent that he decides to give up on his ambition. Mia faces a few harsh setbacks too. She gets feeble by the hard-hitting realities. But Sebastian encourages Mia just like the way Mia fought for his dream. They are not merely lovers, they are lost souls who fell in love only to bring out the better versions of each other.
Mia’s and Sebastian’s ambitious self was strong enough to pull them back and set them forward towards their passion. They made sacrifices, worked hard enough to build a career out of their dreams. It takes compassion, willingness and determination to get to the positions they aspired. Good thing they not only pushed themselves but also inspired many viewers.
Mia and Sebastian are great lovers who supported and brought out a ray of hope in each others’ lives. Ending up together is the secondary thing. But staying with each other at their lowest times and giving a push is what matters. They might not end up together but made each other better. They inspired each other to live their dreams. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling lived and excelled in their roles. Their chemistry made the already beautiful film more beautiful. Their impeccable looks and grace proved that their pairing is enough to watch the film. We can say that their magic worked also for the third time. Emma’s beauty, Ryan’s charm engaged the audience throughout.
As Sebastian said “This is a dream! It’s conflict and it’s compromise, and it’s very, very exciting!”, Damien Chazelle’s dream to conceptualise musical came to life, thanks to his hard work. From dreaming his dream to making the film a recipient of six academy awards, Damien’s ambition came true. His masterful writing, well-balanced direction and jazzy presentation worked wonders. Linus Sandgren’s cinematography needs to be talked about. Stunning visuals, bright colours and exceptional lights aided to make a beautiful film. The right balance between music and choreography beautified the excellent screenplay and direction.
One-liners like “Maybe you liked me when I was on my own because you felt better about yourself”, “Somewhere there’s a place where I find who I’m gonna be” and not to forget the famous “People love what other people are passionate about” made huge impact on people’s reception of the film. These simple dialogues talked about the characters’ strength and willingness. On the whole, one can say that this heartbreaking yet beautiful film impacted a wide range of audience and transformed their reception.
