Film: "La La Land"
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling dance and sing their hearts out in this modern love letter to the Hollywood musical.
14 Academy Award nominations and Winner of 6 Oscars including Best Director, Best Actress and Cinematography
L.A.’s morning rush hour: An army of exuberant commuters leap out of their cars to sing and dance a pedal-to-the-metal celebration of hopefulness and perpetual sunny skies. Writer-director Damien Chazelle revives the all-singing, all-dancing MGM musical, paying homage to Top Hat, Singin’ in the Rain and their twirling brethren. The moody Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a devotee of classical jazz, and ambitious Mia (Emma Stone), a waitress-actress, meet cute, initially resist one another, then quickly see the light. Of course, the path to true love (especially in this day and age) is never smooth.
After the relentless intensity of the Oscar-nominated Whiplash, Chazelle has created an airy and light confection reminiscent of days of Fred and Ginger, Busby Berkeley and Gene Kelly. Gosling and Stone—who can actually sing and dance!—are buoyed by the lovely songs of composer Justin Hurwitz and the soft-shoe stylings of choreographer Mandy Moore (So You Think You Can Dance). With candy-colored costumes, impressionist backdrops and the pleasure of watching bodies strolling and then singing and soaring, La La Land is a love letter to the Hollywood musical. D: Damien Chazelle, US, 2016, 128m
