La La Land (12A) – Movie Review

An old fashioned Hollywood musical in a modern setting with two of the biggest stars of the minute could sound like a narcissistic disaster.  It’s anything but.  It’s one of the coolest movies of the year (and its only January), and is a fascinating visual display, not to mention it has an unforgettable score, and of course the storyline’s not bad either.
Emma Stone could get the Best Actress Oscar for this movie in a couple of months’ time, writes David Flynn.  Her face displayed and told so much more than her well written dialogue could have.  She could dance and she could sing, and she was brilliant in it all.  She played Mia, an actress working in a coffee shop between gigs. 
Ryan Gosling plays Sebastian, a talented jazz musician who is reduced to playing covers in a wine bar, and then later plays in pool parties in Beverly Hills.  Ryan is not a great singer, but he got good songs to sing, and he somehow had a charm with those songs.
The talented duo meet and encourage each others careers, and their separate ambition meets successes and disappointments.  The careers cause frictions similar to the characters in the different ‘Star is Born’ movies.  The chemistry was magic between both leads.
‘La La Land’ gives a huge glimpse into Hollywood life, and the world of movie auditions and the empty side of that world.   There is also a nod here to Gene Kelly movies of the early 1950s.
There is a lot of colour in the storyline and it’s portrayed well by the cast.  It’s one of the most attractive films of modern times and is a carousel of love and jazz.   
It took seven of the Golden Globes that it was nominated for, and it could take up to 10 BAFTA awards, and it will also figure in the 14 Oscar nominations it has received.