By Madison Brown

The Mirror Staff

NEWS

Must See: A New Musical Classic

La La Land was an overnight hit.

Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, the film stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. With a 93% Rotten Tomatoes rating, the highly acclaimed movie has warmed its way into critics’ hearts—a hard-to-accomplish feat.

The movie revolves around two characters, Mia (Stone) and Sebastian (Gosling), and how they find their way in the City of Angels.

Viewers immediately find ourselves amongst a whimsical, musical number titled “Another Day of Sun,” where the movie’s large and vibrant introduction commences with Damien Chazelle’s “Los Angeles.” The musical number leads into the main characters’ first encounter. While many people don’t often jump out of their cars when they’re on the 101 and 405 ramp, it instills a very LA-centric feeling by the end of the number.

The next two hours are filled with music and stars and an overwhelming need to own a jazz club. There were a few parts in the middle that feel slow, but songs like “A Lovely Night” and “City of Stars” make up for whatever time issues there are.

Director Damien Chazelle said in an interview that this movie took seven years to produce, starting as a pipe dream with his friend—and composer for nearly every note in La La Land—Justin Hurwitz, and it eventually turned into an epic adventure. For the audience, it feels like a story you’ve seen a million times before—except it’s just as fresh and emotional as the first love story you saw. Not only does the film focus around falling in love, it focuses around falling in love with the abundant city we live in.

The movie is going head-to-head with the other smash hit cinema flick, Moonlight, at most award shows.

The two films feel like they are in a Battle of the Bands, where the bands feature John Lennon and Paul Mccartney. Despite the competition between the two movies, La La Land won a whopping seven Golden Globes, all of which were well deserved. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s chemistry is wonderful and feels quite natural. The movie is loud, colorful, and overall is very reminiscent of older Hollywood movies.