I know it sounds dramatic, but my life genuinely changed when I watched La La Land for the first time. Something about it scratched an itch in my brain, and now it is my all-time favorite movie. After watching it for the 40th time (not actually, but seriously, I could watch it 40 times and never get sick of it), I decided to pick apart what exactly made me fall in love with this movie. Spoiler warning! I highly recommend stopping here if you don’t want the end of the movie spoiled. Go watch it! Then come back and read this article!
The colors tell the story
This may be the most famous thing about this movie, but that doesn’t make it any less wonderful. Throughout the film, the vibrant colors reflect the feelings of the characters and the state of their relationship. At the start of Seb and Mia’s relationship, there’s a plethora of primary colors, showing how the characters are separate from each other, having not yet become intertwined in each other’s lives. Also, they are both at the beginning of their careers, full of light and hope for the future, which is reflected in the vibrancy of the colors. Once they start dating, secondary colors become more prevalent in the wardrobe and lighting. This shows how they have come together and are now in a deep and meaningful relationship. Both characters are in the pits of their careers, making decisions and taking steps that will play a huge role in their futures. The weight of these decisions is reflected in the moody and darker colors seen in the lighting. Toward the end of the film, there’s no specific color palette, with every color being shown throughout the characters’ lives. At this point, both characters have made strides in their careers and, unfortunately, have discovered they cannot be in a relationship if they both want to be successful. However, the impact they have had on each other’s lives will never go away, and they both know that they could not have reached this point without the other. So, while they have gone their separate ways, they will always have experienced a once-in-a-lifetime connection that shaped the essential parts of who they are.
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone = my favorite film duo
Gosling and Stone have on-screen chemistry like no other. Crazy, Stupid, Love is one of the most underrated rom-coms I’ve ever seen. While it isn’t one of my favorites, the banter between Ryan and Emma’s characters carries the film and makes it 10x better. But the same witty banter that feels so natural in CSL can be found in La La Land, making it not just an emotionally gripping film, but a light and enjoyable one, too. The pair has an unmatched gift for replicating the excitement of a new and fun relationship and the hurt and agony of a failing one. I was crying when they were crying, smiling when they were crying, and basically feeling all of the feelings that their characters were, making the experience that much more gratifying.
I have no idea what era it’s set in
So, this is definitely something I should know by now, but I just don’t, and I am okay with that. From the wardrobe to the cars to the music, I genuinely don’t know when this movie takes place. Is this something I could easily look up to find the answer to? Yes. Am I going to? No. Because I like not knowing. It adds a little something to the energy and makes the film more genuine. It came out in 2016, but it doesn’t take place in that era, which adds to the timelessness of the film. I love that rather than making an overproduced and trendy film, the creators made a film that focuses on a love story that can take place in any lifetime and truly focuses on the characters’ emotions, which is something that will never go out of style.
Musicals on top!
I am a musical girl through and through! I love being able to put on a playlist while studying and picture the whole movie in my head without fully committing to 2 ½ hours of film. Besides my general love of musicals, I absolutely love the music in this movie. Once again, something is telling the story besides the characters. The score adds an element of depth to the film that dialogue cannot, further pulling on my emotions and connecting me to the film. The epilogue of La La Land is one of the most beautiful scenes in a movie that I have ever seen in my whole life. The entire story is literally summed up in one beautiful, heart-wrenching song; there are no words, yet I can feel every emotion felt by the characters at every stage in their relationship.
Life doesn’t always have a happy ending
This film has the most heartbreaking, yet most realistic, ending ever. I love that the creators were not afraid of an unhappy ending because they knew that life doesn’t always guarantee it, or it may not produce the happy ending we envisioned. While both Mia and Seb’s dreams come true, they couldn’t have everything they wanted out of life. Mia and Sebastian could have stayed together, but it would have been at the cost of someone’s career and lifelong dreams. They loved each other too much to hold one another back, so they separated, knowing that it was the best choice for each of them, even though it wasn’t the easiest. Mia was able to find new love and have a child while still finding success in acting, and Seb finally opened his jazz club. This movie teaches us that sometimes life isn’t always going to be kind to us, and we will have to make hard decisions. But despite these tough choices, life goes on, and you will still find happiness, even if it isn’t how you had hoped.