Aspiring actress Mia Dolan and jazz pianist Seb Wilder, both of whom are struggling to find success in their careers, have several brief but somewhat acrimonious encounters. Months later, they meet at a party and become aware of strong chemistry between them. After a couple of false starts, this leads to a romantic relationship in which they are each other's strongest advocates and supporters. Seb encourages Mia to write and produce a one-woman show, while Mia argues against Seb's decision to join a pop music style Jazz fusion band. She feels he is abandoning his dream for the prospect of financial security.
This young couple face a lot of challenges, both professional and personal: is the love they feel for each other enough to overcome them?
Normally when I end a plot summary with a question, it is rhetorical, because it's a movie and we all know how movies tend to go. This is an exception to that rule: La La Land is a film about romance and relationships, but it is not "a romance" and certainly not a romantic comedy. This is actually my favourite thing about the movie. While I am a sucker for the optimistic charms of a more traditional narrative like Singin' in the Rain, I appreciated encountering a work of popular fiction that explores the value of relationships in a more nuanced way.
I also think the comparison to Singin' in the Rain is particularly apt, because it - and other films like it - were obviously a significant influence and inspiration for La La Land. This movie's colours are bright and saturated, given it is very 1950s Cinemascope look, and it features several scenes that feature direct allusions to that era's musicals in their set design and dance routines. The dream sequence where the two main characters imagine an alternative evolution of their relationship smacks heavily of the same kind of the lengthy, abstracted sequences that Gene Kelly musicals (such as Singin' in the Rain itself) often featured, for instance.
One thing those classic musicals had that I think this movie lacks, however, is killer musical numbers. Seb and Mia's relationship signature tune "City of Stars" is okay, but to my mind the catchiest original song is the pop-style number that the script wants us to see as a betrayal of Seb's principles. I also don't think the vocal performances in general are at the same quality as in the classics (with, again, the one exception of the "bad" song). As a musical, I consider La La Land something of a failure, but as a film, I think it is more of a success.
And ultimately, that's why I am giving the film a qualified recommendation: I like the narrative's exploration of hopes and ambitions and how these may go fulfilled or unfulfilled, and whether the latter is automatically and irrevocably "bad", but I also recognise that that sort of story won't be to all tastes. If the musical side of the film had been stronger, that might have enough to make me recommend it even to those looking for a more escapist, completely feel-good experience than the more complex outcomes that La La Land depicts.
Overall, though, I am glad the film was made and that I took the time to see it.
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