Why I think La La Land is one of the best movies of all time

If you're a fan of musicals like me or a person who enjoys romance, you may have heard of the iconic movie La La Land, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. It first came out in 2016, making 472 million at the box office. The movie has six Academy Awards under it's belt, and while the movie may not have won all 14 of it's nominations, it certainly has won over the public.

(found on Pintrest)

(Spoilers Ahead)

The movie follows aspiring actress Mia and jazz lover Sebastian, who hopes to own his own jazz club someday; the two end up meeting on three separate occasions. The first one was a brief meeting when they had a traffic incident, which resulted in Mia flipping Sebastian off before he ended up driving away. During that time, Mia ends up going to work and later to her audition, where she doesn't do so well. Meanwhile, Sebastian goes to his apartment, where he talks to his sister. The second encounter takes place at Sebastian's job, where Mia goes to compliment Sebastian's performance, only to be ignored as he pushes right past her. Finally, their third encounter happens at a party that they both happen to be at, where Mia requests a song that Sebastian hates, and as he proceeds to perform it, Mia rubs it in his face by dancing before walking away. After that last encounter, their story finally starts, and we see them navigate their relationship before ultimately ending things and going their separate ways. What I like about this movie is that it shows us both of their own lives throughout the movie. The viewers get both perspectives that lead up to all three encounters and so forth.

The cinematography in this movie was simply breathtaking. The bright colors can lure anyone in, but what got the viewers to stay was the undeniable chemistry that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling had. It made the movie so much more fun and entertaining to watch. Songs like "City of Stars," "Someone in the Crowd," "Start a Fire," and "Mia and Sebastian's Theme" were phenomenal and are definitely on my playlist. La La Land has a magical essence about it that I think very rarely can ever happen in cinema nowadays. They didn't try too hard and I think that's what people loved about it. Everything about this movie felt truly authentic to itself.

Going back to the characters, another huge reason why I personally loved La La Land besides the cinematography and music was simply because of the storyline and ending. Usually in romance movies like these, the two characters almost always end up together despite the odds that are stacked against them. However, with La La Land, they did the opposite and kept it real. As much as we want, sometimes things just don't work out, and I think anyone can relate to that. As devastating as it was to watch Mia and Sebastian go through hardships, break up, and bump into each other again, I felt like it was a vital part of the story to watch them reunite in a way and see what could've been. That last scene was truly the cherry on top of an already perfect movie. If they had ended up together, I feel like it would've been such a rushed and cheap way to end it and a disservice to it. I'm glad they took a different approach to it and ended it the way they did. As for the acting in this scene: 10/10!! The director did a brilliant job of having Emma and Ryan play the part; I can't imagine anyone else doing it.

If you love romance with a beautiful yet devastating ending, I recommend La La Land. My only advice to you would be this: Grab tissue boxes and a few snacks. You'll need it!

-Dia