La La Land has been receiving critical acclaim for the past few months. Last night our family decided to check it out at the aptly-named Hollywood Theatre in our neighborhood.
The movie focuses on two young people trying to make their way in modern day Los Angeles, whose nickname happens to be La La Land. The lovely Emma Stone plays Mia, an actress, and the wonderful Ryan Gosling plays, a jazz musician. After several chance encounters, these two fall in love. Despite that, neither loses sight of what brought his/her to La La Land in the first place - the dream of making it as an artist.
The movie was bittersweet on so many levels. Most of all, the movie was moving because it captured the very human desire to succeed professionally but also to find love. That it difficult to have both is something that this movie captures better than any I have veer watched. Deep down, we often have to choose- does one stay with one's current situation that is familiar and comfortable or does one chase one's dreams not knowing what the outcome might be. I dare so that for many, there is not a harder choice in life. Fortunately, as the movie, demonstrates, things can "work out" no matter what one chooses, and it is clear that we are all the sum of our choices along the way. The existentialists would be proud of La La Land for sure!
Fantastic movie-making for me is ultimately about stories and characters that help you remember that there is more that unites us as human beings than divides us. I will not spoil the movie's ending for you, but suffice it to say that the final 20 minutes of La La Land were among the finest I have ever seen on screen. I felt as though I was in the room with these two and that I had strapped on their skins. It's rare to feel anything close to that in real life, but this movie reminds one just how powerful certain connections can be.
In three words, La La Land is: Sadness. Beauty. Life. Go see for yourself!
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