By Andrea Buenrostro, Courier Staff Writer
Breaking the record for winning the most awards for a movie at the Golden Globes this year, La La Land is capturing the hearts of film lovers worldwide.
The romantic musical was nominated for 7 Golden Globe categories including titles such as Best Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical, and Best Performance of an Actor in a Comedy or Musical by both Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Winning all 7 of their nominations, La La Land surpassed the previous record breaking films that won 6 awards each, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and Midnight Express (1978). With a production budget of $30 million, the movie has grossed $135 million in the box office since it was released, on December 9, 2016.
“La La Land,” another nickname for Los Angeles, is where the story takes place. Emma Stone plays Mia, a barista on the Warner Brothers lot and an aspiring actress. Ryan Gosling plays Sebastian, a struggling musician trying to bring back the authentic jazz sound. Mia lives with her fellow actress friends, and she constantly goes to auditions and callbacks. Sebastian lives alone and barely gets by with piano gigs here and there. They cross paths when Mia overhears Sebastian playing the keys in a restaurant, the same day he gets fired from that somewhat steady job. He disregards her when she tries to compliment him, leaving her with a blank expression.
A couple of months later, they are reunited at a pool party where Sebastian is playing with an 80s themed band. They talk for a little bit and then more at the end of the party when they look for their cars. It seems like they totally despise each other, but there is somewhat of a connection. Sebastian shows up at her job one day and he introduces her to a live jazz place and after they make plans to go to the movies. Although Mia already has a boyfriend-type relationship, she completely cuts him off for Sebastian. They obviously fall in love, and after a couple of months Mia moves into Sebastian’s place.
Sebastian has dreams of opening up his own jazz club there in LA. One day, an old friend of Sebastian’s, Keith (played by John Legend), offers him a spot in his upcoming band. He takes the offer so that he can save up for his club and eventually the band becomes very popular, going on tour. Meanwhile, Mia is convinced to write her own one woman show since she always liked writing plays as a child. Mia is concerned because the jazz isn’t the classic kind that Sebastian likes, it’s a more modern pop-like jazz. He says that he will stay in the band for a couple of years or maybe even until the end. From here on, Sebastian and Mia’s relationship turns rocky. They never get the chance to see each other or even communicate. Mia has enough with her aspiring career and her love life when only a couple of people show up to her first show, realizing Sebastian wasn’t even one of them.
Mia goes back to her family in Nevada and doesn’t talk to Sebastian. He gets a call from an acting agency asking for Mia and makes a trip to Nevada to tell her. She’s hesitant at first but then decides to give it a chance. When they get back to California, Mia pretty much aced her audition, where her role requires her to film in Paris for a year. They both pretty much say their goodbyes, at least for the moment. They tell each other that they will always cherish their memories together.
Five years later, Mia is a big time movie star and Sebastian finally has his own, and very popular, jazz club “Seb’s,” which was named by Mia when they were together. Mia now has a husband and child, while Sebastian is still single. Mia and her husband stumble upon Seb’s and decide to check it out. When they both see each other, Sebastian plays “City Of Stars” on the piano, a song that both of them would sing together. The movie then shifts to a sort of hazy clip of, what you can call, “what might of been.” It shows how their lives would have turned out as if they were to have stayed together. In that life, they had a kid, Mia still became a successful actress, Sebastian plays jazz in Paris, and they live happily ever after. Except in that life, Sebastian doesn’t get to fulfill his dreams of owning a jazz club. So we see that if they stayed together, only Mia would live her dreams and not them both.
The movie ends with Mia and Sebastian staring at each other, maybe reminiscing on how much they truly loved each other, leaving with a soft smile.
Musicals are typically kind of cheesy, however La La Land demolishes that stereotype. When the characters break into song, it’s fun and catchy without being overly annoying. Love stories with happy endings are overplayed and cliche. Here we see a sad but still happy story line, in a sense where they both get what they want. The original soundtrack has beautiful instrumentals that really add to the aesthetic of the classic feeling film. Colors are a big factor to this movie as a whole. Throughout the duration there are vibrant backgrounds and vivid scenery. The cinematography here is definitely pleasing to the eye.
The film gives an inspirational message to put yourself first in cases where it may seem difficult to do so. It also reminds all the dreamers out there to not give up on their goals, to keep pushing. Even if you’re just in the mood to see a good movie, I highly recommend to give La La Land a watch.