La La Land
you can do anything, but you can't do everything
love, independence, sacrifice, devotion, dreams... man. this movie just hits me harder every time i watch it
for better or for worse, i'm currently guzzling the following kool aid —
doing anything cool is hard. it'll take years. it'll take a somewhat anti-social amount of self delusion. it'll take sacrifice and incredibly thick skin — it's so hard to stay motivated, to get laughed out of audition after audition after audition, to look up at the water damage in your ceiling and hear your girlfriend reluctantly tell her parents you don't have a stable job
... but it's possible — and if you're comfortable looking for the light switch in a dark room of unknown size, you can do it — whatever "it" may be
so, then — what makes a life worth living? are we wrong to choose our dreams? are we wrong to choose love? can you always change your mind later?
who knows. but man is it intoxicating to see signs of success doing what excites you. to take your life off-rail. to stop being a fox in a hole and start being a wild animal.
and boy does damien chazelle just love art. this and babylon are such love letters to the industry, the town, the dreamers that make it happen. and again, here, like in babylon, he loves a closing montage and a movie within a movie. to just romanticize the hell out of hollywood all over again
and you know what? i like damien's city of stars too :)
i love the seasons, the colors, the dance numbers, the jazz, the songs, the flying, the silhouettes, the spotlights, the whistling, the observatory — you just can't help but be in a good mood watching this movie
i wouldn't change a thing about the ending or the message. success is hard. the people that push us to follow our dreams change our lives.
... the envisioned alternate world? the kiss? the bittersweet shared smile?
it's touching. and we'd all be "what if"-ing in that scenario too. but cmon — they're both living their dreams. they wouldn't change a thing :)
and the music is really incredible. it's been a while since i've seen this movie but i always forget how shamelessly musical it is. and at least for me it doesn't feel corny in the slightest
emma stone and ryan gosling destroy. i don't remember when she blew up, but emma stone absolutely rocks and is incredibly deserving of her oscar here. her entire wordless appearance in seb's is dominating. and they're so funny together
and now... for my one (ONE!!!) criticism
the only thing i dislike about this movie is how obviously lip-synced the opening number and the roommate song (the first two songs) are. i honestly thought our theater's a/v might be desynced this time around — it's jarring. in a previous review i speculated that it might be purposefully bad — kind of like the author at the pool party — to cheekily poke fun at the more plastic creatives in it for the money or fame or anything-that's-not-the-art
but i hope that's not the case — the movie is a love letter to genuine passion for art — i feel like dunking on ingenuity is valid to nod to but ultimately just an injection of bad vibes into a story that's so tight and beautiful otherwise
so i wish they'd just do a little better with it