Last month marked the 10th anniversary of La La Land’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and it continues to be a favourite among fans and critics alike. But why does it remain such a significant film today?
La La Land demonstrated that an old-school Hollywood musical, despite being set in modern Los Angeles, could still be a commercially and critically successful feature film. Directed by Damien Chazelle, it follows jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) as they juggle their love for each other with their dreams. It draws on the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals as well as French musical cinema, with clear nods to classics such as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Singin’ in the Rain.
Using these influences, La La Land feels new and engaging, utilising modern technology and techniques to recreate the feeling of old-fashioned films, with long continuous takes allowing characters to perform together without the rapid cuts that are so popular in contemporary films. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren shot the film on 35mm and used saturated colours throughout to evoke this nostalgia, particularly because these colour palettes and lighting were associated with 1950s cinema. Chazelle showed that original musicals could still be box office hits while being critically acclaimed, and contributed to a renewed appetite for a new generation of musicals on the big screen.
Thematically, La La Land engages relevant yet poignant ideas about romance and aspiration, something that contributes to its lasting appeal. Love and ambition grapple with each other throughout, while mesmerising scores, songs and seamless choreography elevate this tension. Songs like “City of Stars” allow Mia and Sebastian to express emotions that they can’t in conversation, and carry deeper meaning aside from visual spectacle. We want both Mia and Sebastian to achieve their goals, becoming a successful actress and jazz pianist, yet we know deep down they have to sacrifice their relationship to achieve them.
Nevertheless, what maintains La La Land’s fan favourite status is its ending. This heartbreaking yet cathartic scene set five years after the end of their relationship brings the film’s central tension to conclusion; the conflict between pursuing their individual dreams with their love for each other. While its fantasy sequence gives the audience what it wants and what many other conventional romances would have provided, the smile shared between Mia and Sebastian is this ending’s true achievement and what makes fans still so deeply in love with this film ten years later. This dual perspective between fairytale and bittersweet reality is what resonates with audiences; an understanding that their relationship mattered in helping each other achieve their dreams but could not last because of this. Chazelle does not want us to think that their romance was unsuccessful, and instead suggests it was necessary for their aspirations. This is why the smile matters. Everyone remembers the ending, but would we hold La La Land up to the same extent we do today if Mia and Seb ended up together?
Illustration by Clara McDonald for The Student.
