One of my favourite things about this film is that it is timeless, literally. There is no set time period that I can identify with this film. It has aspects from so many different eras. I first thought it was set in the 50s but then Emma Stone's character, Mia, is seen using an iPhone. Being able to pick and choose the characteristic from different time periods makes the story flexible and flow with no barriers. This works particularly well with Sebastian's love of jazz, as although it's not a very popular music choice with many millennials, La La Land makes you forget that and just want to dance along to the music.
I'm not normally a fan of musicals but the way this film intertwined the songs into the scenes to perfectly fit the story was seamless. The chirpy songs made up for the point in which the plot was lacking. However, I will admit that this soundtrack didn't hit a chord with me. Apart from City of Stars, none of the songs made me want to go back and listen again. The songs were good, lyrically, but not fantastic. But I will say I was blown away by Emma Stone's singing, damn is there anything she can't do?!
I have seen a lot of criticisms towards Ryan Gosling's character Seb and how he behaved at the beginning of the movie. He's been described as a "douche bag" by many but I think he has a right to be a bad mood, he's just been fired and is in a crappy tribute band. I also liked that it wasn't love at first sight when he did meet Mia, that they did rub each other the wrong way but still liked each other. I partially liked the angst of their two creative worlds colliding.
My main problem with La La Land is that it just felt too long. It had a strong opening but towards the middle, I started to loose interest. The plot felt like it was lacking something like I was waiting for nothing to happen. I think if the argument scene had happened sooner, I would have felt different. Honestly, the twist ending saved the entire film for me. I was just about to loose full interest, and then the giant twist on their love story happened and I most certainly did not see it coming. It made me go back over the film in my head and relive every moment. I enjoyed the different view on the idea of love but heck it hurt.
Overall, I enjoyed La La Land, although not every scene grabbed me it made up for it with incredible acting, choreography, well-fitted songs and a shock ending. I'd give it a 4/5 and most definitely recommend you watching it yourself, as this film is very much a different experience for each viewer.