Our goal this past weekend was to see something to offset
the rather morose “Manchester by the Sea,” and we certainly did choose
something quite different: “La La Land.”
The opening scene of the movie finds hundreds of cars in a traffic jam
in Los Angeles, which becomes an excuse for hundreds of drivers to leave their
cars and break into a huge dance routine.
We quickly meet the two main characters, Mia (Emma Stone)
and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). She is an aspiring actress while he dreams of
being a jazz pianist, both of them imagining fame and fortune in their trades,
as are nearly every one of the people surrounding them. But meanwhile, she barely
makes ends meet as a barista, and he struggles to hold down gigs playing old
and tired holiday tunes in a bar. Their relationship starts slowly until they
gradually realize that they are, in many ways, kindred spirits. But as their
careers begin to take off, they are forced to travel in different directions to
pursue their dreams. We eventually catch up with them some five years later,
when they accidentally run into each other. This is followed by a wonderful
fantasy scene in which they imagine what things might have been had they stayed
together.
All in all, this was a fun and colorful movie. With all the
horrible things going on in the world right now, and our concerns as we embark
upon a very new and different administration in this country, this movie may
well be just the break the doctor ordered. So let go, let yourself enjoy for a
couple of hours!
Love,
Rebecca
