La La Land: A Controversial Take
- Nicole Au
- 23 hours ago
- 4 min read
La La Land is praised for its captivating synchronized tap-dancing scenes and its enthusiastic homage to the musical genre. However, after watching it for a second time, I can confirm that it was overhyped. Yes, I said it. The film fell incredibly short of what I would consider a good musical. While there were some aspects of the film (which I will discuss in later detail) that were Oscar-worthy, I don’t think this movie deserves all the praise.
La La Land has a 4.1 average rating on Letterboxd, with over 300k ratings with the lead quote, “Here’s to the fools who dream.” Well, I felt like a fool for giving this film a second chance. While the beginning scenes play around with bold color choices and unique camera angles, this magic quickly fizzles out and we’re left with another hour of the film to watch.
The film’s biggest weakness is its emotional thinness. Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) are supposed to be deeply in love, yet their relationship lacks any real romantic spark. The actors lack the necessary chemistry to make the audience believe that they are truly meant to be, using dance and singing scenes to compensate for their lack of passion. Their connection is built on the montages of their relationship over the course of a few months and well-choreographed musical numbers rather than raw intimacy, so when the story asks us as viewers to care for their sacrifices, it feels unearned. The ending was clearly aimed to devastate viewers, but it just touches the surface of a typical “what if” sequence—interesting, but emotionally hollow. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, while acclaimed actors on their own, were mismatched for a musical. Their performances seemed half-hearted and both the actors lacked the “it factor” needed to successfully act in a musical.
Damien Chazelle’s obsession with recreating classic Hollywood musicals also becomes a liability in this film. The opening freeway number is energetic and artistic but impersonal, setting the stage for the various other musical numbers that follow. The songs and dance sequences are a direct showcase of complex cinematography which, while captivating for the eyes, do not add any emotional value to the plot or characters.
Then there’s the film's focus on jazz. Sebastian’s purist obsessions build him up as a savior of the jazz genre, a framing that feels outdated and doesn’t make him a pleasant character for us to watch. He borders on being condescending various times throughout the movie, especially toward Mia. On this note, the film seemingly favors Sebastian’s male artistic struggle over Mia’s at times. Mia is portrayed more as a muse and supporter of Sebastian’s dream rather than an equal protagonist. The ending, with Emma Stone being married to another famous actor and having a kid, suggests that female success is still tied to domestic fulfillment. While both characters achieve their dreams—Mia being a successful actress and Sebastian owning his own jazz club—the narrative structure puts more emphasis on Sebastian’s struggle to reach a “pure artist” status. I fail to see the importance of Mia’s marriage in La La Land—why couldn’t both actors achieve their dreams independently?
This film was made in 2016, yet the all-white cast was tiresome to watch. The movie tries to focus on jazz as a crucial aspect to Sebastian’s character, but I find this ironic considering the fact that jazz originated in African American communities in New Orleans. I can without a doubt say that I would have enjoyed the film much more if there was some diversity in the cast. The directors hired two Caucasian actors who have big names in the industry but can’t dance or sing. In my opinion, the power of casting was truly an overlooked aspect of this film that ended up hurting my movie-watching experience.
While I am aware my view on this film differs from the usual praise it gets, I refuse to criticize the excellent cinematography. The camera movements are swift and capture the essence of each scene. We don’t have just the usual wide angle, close-ups, and occasional tracking shots, but instead an array of aerial shots, long takes, and extreme wide angle shots. My personal favorite scene was the long take in the jazz bar where the camera switches from Mia dancing to Sebastian playing the piano multiple times at an increasing tempo. The filmmakers were intentional with the coloring used in every scene, utilizing a Technicolor-inspired aesthetic to evoke old Hollywood musical nostalgia.
Ultimately, La La Land wants credit for acknowledging that dreams require compromise, but it delivers that message in the safest way possible. If the film is supposed to be about ambition and chasing your dreams, why does love never feel truly vulnerable? For a movie that is enamored with the idea of passion, the film is beautiful to look at, enjoyable to hear, and easy to forget once the music fades.
Nicole Au is a freshman at Columbia University studying Psychology and Film. When not sharing her love of film, she likes to bake, paint, find new food spots in the city, or do jigsaw puzzles. While a cinephile, she especially loves all movies starring Tom Hanks or Leonardo DiCaprio.