Review: La La Land

To boot, I loved almost all the separate components of the film individually but I didn’t love the resulting bundle.

Aesthetically, my eyes were gently caressed with beauty for the full duration of the movie and for that I’m most appreciative.

Ryan Gosling is his usual, immaculate self, succeeding in gracing us with yet another stunning performance — stylish, suave and utterly charming.

Emma Stone has her ups and middles but never a down, and she gave me one of the sole two scenes that made my breathing falter against an emotional hiccup; another win.

Now, on the musical side of things…

Meh.

The songs left me disinterested, the overall sound dress of the film rang uninspired and repetitive, only resonating with my pathos during a couple of instances, while the rest lagged tiredly to the request of the more instinct-driven scenes.

The story itself… a bit silly, no? Simplistic almost, benefiting from a strong start, a fantastic ending and the sparking chemistry between the protagonists, on the other hand, lacking any sort of actual substance past the forced demand to fall head over heels with the kitty-cuteness that we are being presented, no questions asked. I don’t like having my arm twisted into feeling, and this is where this otherwise whimsical tale of sensory affluence hit another miss for me.

To sum up. I acknowledge the individuality of the project, felt the strive and artistry that is so craftily weaved into the seams of this audiovisual extravaganza and I was, without a doubt, entertained. On the flip side, the way it all translated to my reason, the shortcomings of La La Land make this a middle-tier effort, only edging ahead on account of the fact that along with the glossy couple, I got to glide with effortless elegance through a Starry Night, brush shoulders with Monet, journey into the colourful and the capricious.

For that fact, I will accept defeat, bump it up another half a star and humbly take off my fedora to it.