Lala Land

I thought I'd do something a bit different today and do a film review. Yesterday I watched Lala Land after seeing and hearing all the hype surrounding it, I was curious to see what all the fuss was about and I'll admit that it didn't really appeal, I like musicals but I'm very fussy with them. I'll try to keep my film reviews fairly short and sweet as most people will already know what the film plots are about and I'll try not to put many spoilers in my reviews, if I do then it will contain a spoiler warning.

Basically this is set in modern Hollywood hence the title, at first I was confused as I could not tell whether it was meant to be set now or in the fifties but it soon became clear once I saw one of the characters using an iPhone! The film revolves around two characters who are both trying to get somewhere in Hollywood and in the meantime they keep bumping into each other and soon end up dating and encouraging each other to audition and take chances in order to further their careers, sadly though this isn't the love affair viewers are hoping for and things quickly go down hill for the couple as one progresses further and the other is left behind. This is basically what happens throughout the entire film, which is slightly repetitive after a while, one character progresses and the other gets left behind and then just when the other character finally catches a break, the other character hits a setback in their chosen career, they're never quite on par with each other. It grows tiresome after a while, however as I have studied film making at university, I was mostly interested in the cinematography which is visually stunning. The film opens to people singing and dancing on top of their cars as they're stuck in a traffic jam, unfortunately I think that the opening track could have been so much stronger, I found it forgetful and I couldn't remember it and consequently I found most of the soundtrack to be forgettable. Usually after seeing a musical I'll be singing the songs for a while afterwards but with this I couldn't remember any of them. I also think there was a lack of chemistry at times between the two lead actors, I found Emma Stone to be very charming and good fun but Ryan Gosling was too moody and miserable for my liking and therefore they just didn't gel.

Overall though despite its flaws I really enjoyed this film, I love the references to old Hollywood and the costumes are incredible, and as I mentioned previously, the cinematography is amazing, it's beautifully shot and well made but I can't help but think that it's slightly overrated, however it's definitely worth a watch, go for the visuals and not the music which to me is a let down as I was expecting some big numbers in this, with a few tweaks and a stronger soundtrack this could have been truly amazing. I think Lala Land was inspired by Begin Again which has a similar plot only it's set in New York instead of Hollywood and I also noticed elements of The Notebook, if you enjoyed both of those films then you will like this. I'd give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.