Years from now, La La Land will probably be remembered less for its musicality and more for the way it so perfectly represents Los Angeles as a city simultaneously filled with both hopeful dreamers and those who are already living out their dreams.
The camera’s depiction of the titular city does not romanticize or hide anything. The film’s boisterous opening number takes place on a crowded freeway bridge in the middle of a standstill traffic jam filled with stereotypical Angelenos. I also couldn’t help but notice the oil stains on the pavement over which Mia (Emma Stone) and her roommates dance during “Someone in the Crowd,” the film’s second number. If there had been a more romanticized version of this scene, writer/director Damien Chazelle might have chosen instead to film a few blocks away where the pavement was more pristine or even to remove the oil stains in post production; but he did not. As the film progresses and Mia and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) get closer to achieving their dreams, Chazelle gradually and subtly makes these glamour-less moments increasingly scarce in favor of more flattering angles, lighting, and coloring. Both Chazelle and choreographer Mandy Moore make great use of the oft-overlooked musical genre to deliver many magical moments that transcend reality but are nonetheless effective at charming audiences.
For most people, the words “Hollywood” and “celebrities” go hand in hand. La La Land is a film about L.A. (for all intents and purposes, Hollywood), which is the “City of Stars” according to one of the film’s recurring musical numbers. One of the strengths of La La Land is the fact that it spends so much time focusing on those hopeful people who haven’t yet reached celebrity status. The film make me think of many of my friends and coworkers in L.A. who are pursuing their own dreams as aspiring filmmakers, musicians, or actors. “Someone in the Crowd” sounds like it was taken directly from conversations I’ve often had with those friends. This overlooked aspect of living in the city of Los Angeles with the hope of future stardom is likely one of the reasons La La Land has become so popular.
I am writing this review having just finished watching La La Land win a record-breaking number of awards at the Golden Globes. It struck me as quite apropos, particularly as I watched Emma Stone accept the award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, which she had won for portraying an aspiring actress and playwright. In her acceptance speech, Emma referenced her own hopeful arrival in Los Angeles 13 years ago this week, further reinforcing the involuntary connection in my mind between the celebrity Emma Stone and her character Mia.
In our culture celebrities are elevated to a level of almost mystic importance. In his review of La La Land, Elijah Davidson made some great points about our culture’s obsession with celebrity status and “the dark side of artistic ambition.” I agree that such ambition is incompatible with God’s call for us to love others. I do however disagree with his notion that as a film La La Land values the pursuit of celebrity over the pursuit of one’s craft. I think La La Land places the most value on following your dreams and answering that call within yourself to do whatever it is that you were created to do. Fame is a side effect of Mia and Sebastian’s journeys to pursue their particular dreams, but it is ultimately the pursuit of those dreams which is championed throughout the film.
I would caution against condemning a successful actor or musician because of their fame alone. Many artists have risen to fame simply from pursuing their craft with excellence and not harboring any significant personal ambition. The danger for an artist can arise in allowing ambition to cloud their love of their work and rearrange their priorities in unhealthy ways.
La La Land contrasts the ways in which Mia and Sebastian pursue their artistic craft. The film doesn’t offer up many clues as to Mia’s level of personal ambition. Early on we do see her watching a famous actress and wishing that could be her some day, but we mainly hear Mia talk about how she loves acting for its own sake.
Similarly, when we meet Sebastian he is singing the praises of jazz and wants nothing more than to open his own club where the music performed is as pure as he can imagine. Even so, he eventually falls prey to the poison of ambition and joins a popular band which plays a different musical style than his beloved jazz. Mia calls him out, accusing him of not even enjoying the music that has made him so popular, and the truth cuts deep. Yet by the film’s end we see Sebastian leave that world of celebrity behind and finally live out his dream of running a jazz club. Mia also eventually found great success through pursuing her craft.
The film’s unique epilogue serves as a poignant reminder that neither Mia nor Sebastian achieved their dreams without significant sacrifices along the way. Nevertheless, in the end they both appear to be happy that they loved their craft enough to wholeheartedly follow — and realize — their dreams.
So here’s to the ones who dream.
