Iustin Pop: Short rant/review of La La Land
Warning: Spoilers below. Rant below. Much angry, MANY
ALL-CAPS. You've been warned!
So, today we went to see "La La Land", because I've heard good things
about it, and because I do enjoy good musicals. And because of this, I
wrote this post, instead of what I originally had in mind (related to
kernel configuration).
Was it a good movie? Definitely yes. Was it a good musical? So and
so. Did I like the ending? HELL NO, over and over NO.
The movie itself was much better than I expected. I don't read plot
details in advance nor real reviews, so I expected more of a musical,
and less of a good plot. But the movie had a very good plot. Two young
people, striving to fulfil their artistic dreams, fall in love, and
they fight through-sometimes helping, sometimes hindering each
other until, finally, each gets their own breakthrough, etc.
The choice of actress was spot on halfway through the movie, I was
thinking that I can't imagine the same plot played by a different
actress. Of course many other actresses could have played the part,
but Emma Stone played so well, I have trouble seeing the same
character with the same always half-happy, half-sad attitude. The
choice of actor was I think OK at first I was in doubt, but he played
also well. Or maybe it was just that I couldn't identify with him at
first. Not that I identify well with artists in general
The dance scenes were OK, and the singing good, but as I said, the
musical part was secondary to the actual struggles of the
characters. The movie itself was, technically, very well done; a lot
of filming was in bars/clubs/locations with difficult lighting, and
the shooting was very good. They also had a scene on a pier, looking
towards the ocean and the setting sun, and the characters walking
towards the beach so heavily back-lighted, and I kept thinking "If I
get only one shot this perfectly exposed and colour correct(ed), I'm
happy". So high notes here.
Back to the plot. The story of how she and him fought their own
struggles was very nicely told. Tick-tack, up and down (hope and
rejection), leaning on the other to get morale back, is a captivating
story. The cliff-hanger at the pre-end with her career, the going back
home, the last minute save, all very well told.
So at this stage, I would have given the movie a 9/10. And I was
happy.
Then we have the usual "one character has to go away to a far away
country for a long time", except in this case it was just 4
months. And they have the usual discussion "what do we do with our
relation, where do we take it", and she says "I will always love you",
to which he replies "And I will too" (or equivalent).
In my mind, this means they'll have to survive during the break,
they'll have to also survive through his touring months/years, but in
the end love will be stronger. Because this is what the movie told us
until now, that she made it because of him, and he made it because of
her. Neither of them would have been this strong without the other (he
wouldn't have picked up the invitation from his old pal, she wouldn't
have gone to the final audition request nor write the play which got
her the audition/recognition). Estimated movie ending: awesome.
And then something happens. The timeline jumps 5 years in the future
(as expected), and she is famous, married (WITH SOMEONE ELSE) and
happy mother of a 3-year old. Through fate, she and her husband enter
the club of Sebastian (as he also fulfilled his dream), she and
Sebastian see each other, he plays their song, during which we're
served a re-run of the movie but in stupid "everything goes well"
style (all bad events eliminated), in which it is she and Sebastian
who enter the club (which belongs now to somebody else), and then
we're back in real time, song ends, she and her husband leave, but
before that she and Sebastian exchange one last smile, THE END.
And I'm sitting there, not believing my eyes. WHAT THE? So I get home,
not write this post for four hours to calm down, but I can't. Because
this doesn't make sense. AT ALL.
What does the internet say? Quoting from
this CNN article,
written exactly today. The director says:
"That ending was there from the get-go," [director Damien Chazelle] told CNN in a recent interview. "I think I just have a thing about love stories where the lovers don't wind up together at the end; I find it very romantic."Huh, excuse me?
"I think there's a reason why most of the greatest love stories in history don't end with happily ever after," Chazelle said. "To me, if you're telling a story about love, love has to be bigger than the characters." Chazelle sees Mia and Sebastian's love as a "third character" and something that "lives on." "[The ending gives] you that sense that even if the relationship itself might be over in practical terms, the love is not over," he said. "The love lasts, and I think that's just a beautiful kind of thing."OH FOR THE LOVE OF. This is a wishy-washy explanation that tries to approach the thing from the artistic side. No, this is bullshit, because of multiple things. Let me try to roll back and explain what I think was the intention.
- An earlier fight between Mia and Sebastian points to the fact that they're both very dedicated to their careers, and this means it's hard for them to stay together if they both chase their dream. He has to be on tour, and she has to rehearse for her play, so they won't see each other for at least two weeks (in this instance). Later, she calls him and leaves a message that she hasn't seen him in a while (complex scene which ends in another fight, which is very well done). So we see the conflict that seems to say "You can't have a relation of equals; one party has to give up their dream". While this might be partially true in the real world, I don't go to movies to see the real world.
- After the year-long window into their life, I can't think that either Sebastian or Mia can be really successful without the other; because they are so alike, so passionate about their dreams, that a normal person wouldn't be able to understand and push the other when they need. However, the ending show both Mia and Sebastian quite successful, so one has to wonder: did they make it alone? Sebastian seems so (we don't see a partner for him), Mia unclear, likely not. How did Sebastian get through? What did Mia find in her husband?
- This is very one-sided, since I'm a man, so bear with me: Sebastian helped Mia through her tough time. Once she got the breakthrough (and they split), she found somebody else, and I have to wonder in what circumstances they met. In the sense that maybe her husband only knew "successful Mia" and not "struggling/aspiring Mia". Her husband seems completely oblivious to all the eye contact between Mia and Sebastian in the club, seems to know Sebastian/about Sebastian not. How deep is their relation?
- This is still one sided, sorry. When they break up (before Mia leaves for Paris), Sebastian asks "so where do we go from here?". Mia says "Nowhere". He asks once more, she rejects him again. So after one year of mad love and cries and happy moments, he gives up over two sentences? He's been following his dream (proper Jazz) in spite of all downturns in life until then, but he gives up on his real love over this? It doesn't make sense; trying to identify my self with the character, I can't reconcile this scene at all, unless he didn't really love her.