La La Demy Land
Friday, January 6, 2017 at 8:35PM Now that La La Land is in wide release word of mouth from regular moviegoers (rather than critics) keeps expanding. As expected with Best Picture frontrunners, not all of it is kind. This unique and ravishing film has begun to suffer from the inevitable backlash. Some of my musical theater friends are balking that neither star is a great singer, the songs aren’t sophisticated, and it doesn’t honor Hollywood musicals in the way they’d expected.
To harp on these issues misses the point of what director Damien Chazelle has created. It's true that neither Emma Stone nor Ryan Gosling have Broadway-caliber singing voices, and it’s also true that future composers of musical theater are likelier to study Sondheim than Justin Hurwitz. But Chazelle isn’t making a Broadway show, he’s crafting a wholly-original tone for a film, stealing bits and pieces from a wide variety of sources, and doesn’t seem interested in making a purely traditional Hollywood musical.
Chazelle has spoken in interviews about how the single greatest influence on La La Land were the two musical films of French director Jacques Demy: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and The Young Girls of Rochefort...
So there’s no time like the present to dig back into the 1960s and look at these two films and their similarities to one of this year’s leading Best Picture contenders.
If you want to witness mediocre singing and dancing in a movie musical, one need look no further than these two French classics. There’s not a powerful voice among the cast of either film, yet neither is hurt by this fact. The singing sometimes even has an oddly canned effect, where you can’t quite make out the lyrics. La La Land’s opening number “Another Day of Sun” has this same quality: it feels pre-recorded on purpose, to put you in the frame of mind of watching something artificial. That number opens on a highway, much akin to Rochefort’s opening number on a sequence of roads (neither number features the film’s respective leads, and both feature people headed to work). Cherbourg commences with singing mechanics at an auto garage. All three films want to thrust the viewer into a stylized reality immediately.
Tonally, Chazelle borrows the candy-cane sunniness of Rochefort and the bittersweet sadness of Cherbourg at his discretion. Demy’s films were his own homage to Hollywood musicals, but filtered through a French sensibility, and manifested with somewhat of a commentary/frame around them. Hollywood musicals, as a product of their time, benefitted from the natural optimism and true desire for escapism that most Americans felt, and that ran through most of the films produced during their heyday. The French in general do not inherently share these attributes, so Rochefort and Cherbourg have their own self-aware, elevated energy. The first number with the mechanics in Cherbourg includes a debate about which is better, theater or cinema, with one character complaining, while singing, that he hates all that singing in the theater. Both films feature simple plots about lovers and dreamers, meant to appeal to the viewer’s inner romantic. The success of La La Land rises and falls on Chazelle’s ability to invoke that same suppressed idealism.
Visually, La La Land takes many cues from both Demy films. Emma’s song with her roommates has the girls costumed in primary-colored jewel tone dresses that recall the continuously-mirrored costuming of real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac in Rochefort. While one could argue that bright colors aren’t exactly revolutionary for a musical, once again there is a purposefully-heightened, exaggerated use of that color. There are numerous examples in all three films of sets that include oversaturated primaries and soft pastels utilized specifically to sustain the energy and style of the pictures.
La La Land also utilizes the power of practical locations in a way similar to the Demy movies. Many Hollywood movies were shot entirely on sets, with no practicals. Umbrella’s two most stunning sequences, the main theme song sung at the Cherbourg train station and the finale at the overlit gas station, use real locations at the film’s most “human” and powerful moments, when we need to register genuine sadness for the character’s actual loss. On a lighter note, Rochefort has its characters singing and dancing on the actual streets of its eponymous town throughout. Chazelle takes bits and pieces of this as inspiration: his sequence shot at Griffith Observatory is the romantic high of the picture, and he includes many moments when Emma Stone does a small dance bit on the street, or exiting the incline, that sustains the tone of the piece when there’s no actual singing or dancing.
It’s an oversimplification to say that American moviegoing audiences now have a cynical sensibility that French audiences already had in the 1960s, but it’s not far off either. Contemporary audiences do look for a language that allows them to “accept” characters singing and dancing, and Chazelle took that charge seriously. The beauty of La La Land is that he takes from the French Demy classics, but he also takes liberally from the Hollywood classics. He then goes further, smartly selecting what worked beautifully from both, throwing them into a blender to come up with a sensibility all his own. Chazelle brings the delicacy you need to believe in a love story about dreamers, but he has the maturity to knock a blow to what’s lost in their journey.
Reader Comments (25)
"La La Land" re-imagines the classic Hollywood musical for the 21st century- yes it pays tribute from everyone from Aistaires and Rogers to M.G, M. and Jaques Demy. It's pure movie loving joy from start to finish
Also, I think it's worth mentioning the big Hollywood 60s musical as well. After all, "La La Land" is a "CinemaScope" film, which the Golden Age musicals of course never were.
I really liked <I>La-la Land</I>, but I found Ryan Gosling's lack of singing pretty distracting. I appreciate that you put this post together, but what doesn't work for me isn't that he isn't a professional singer: it's that he hits the notes, but sounds unsure of himself while doing it. Stone struck me as more confident, and her performance in 'The Fools Who Dream' was much more dynamic than the rest of her work.
I really liked this movie, but I do feel like for musicians like me, it is sometimes less of an abstract criticism, but hearing these unconfident/not great singers can be kinda painful.
Of course, within 3 days of seeing this movie I saw <I>Moulin Rouge</I> on the big screen, and both Kidman and McGregor are basically the gold standard of non-musical theatre folk being amazing musical movie singers.
Chazelle has certainly done an excellent job of directing the conversation, telling us what to compare his movie to. It lends respectability to compare his movie to a noted French auteur who is safely in the past.
Insisting on this comparison, we're not looking at other current artists working and their innovative approaches to music, dance, and movement.
I like being allowed to choose my own comparisons. I compare this movie to musicals where the actors can really sing and dance. I compare the lingering impression of shallowness to other dramatic movies that don't quite work.
I find the "Look here!" And "Think this!" quite off-putting.
I thought this movie was okay, but the selling of it, eliding over it's shortcomings as if they were virtues, while effective marketing, makes me cooler on the whole project.
I liked the movie enough but I have to disagree with your defense of the film. Ultimately it's the music and singing that hurts the movie from its potential greatness. Swap out Gosling for someone like Chadwick Boseman, who's just as talented but also a much better vocalist, and it would've been a huge jump in improvement.
Then the musics itself is so bland and fogettable that they feel insignificant to overall film. Besides "City of Stars" which thanks to its whistle melody has at least something noticeable, nothing else sticks. "No Dames" in Hail, Cesar had a better musical number than anything in this.
Like I said, I still mostly enjoyed the film but it was despite its musical sections when it should have been because of it.
Love the article and love the film. Chazelle introduced a screening of Umbrellas of Cherbourg in LA last night, and it was lovely on the big screen. Regardless of criticism (which, let's be real, was always going to happen for a big old school musical set in the modern day), he'll have his revenge: It's going to be a smash hit. Finally expanding nationally and big overseas (I didn't realize until this season that South Korea has such huge turnout for musicals! Apparently a trend there), they can laugh all the way to the bank.
The movie is a winner. Critical acclaim, in the oscar conversation, huge push for everyone involved. People will nitpick everything. It's the way life is. When Moulin Rouge came out it was nitpicked to death. Here we are 15 years later and the movie has aged beautifully and is still a joy to watch. Just let us have good things without the negative nothings and go nitpick the president.
As someone who has listened to the soundtrack countless of times, I don't get AT ALL those people who say the songs in LA LA LAND are bland or forgettable. Different strokes I guess.
Anyways, the film is on IMAX next weekend and I can't wait to see these colors and songs on the REALLY big screen. :D
There’s not a powerful voice among the cast of either film, yet neither is hurt by this fact.
Everybody is dubbed, at that.
@ Ryan T
Well if you listened to the album countless times that might explain it.
IMO, Stone sang way betta than Kidman
Movies that dare to be be unconventional will alws be criticized. Come to tink o it, everyone has sumtink bad to say about all the performances, incl Portman in Jackie & even Bening in 20th Century Women...goes to show thr'll alws b haters no matter wat
But I dun tink it'll hurt the Oscar chance o La La Land. I'm ok if Emma dun win BA, but rather than Portman, I much prefer Adams or Bening pick up a long o/due Oscar
How can anyone criticize that soundtrack? My goodness it's good.
I am a "Manchester by the sea" kind of guy but I would be VERY happy to see "La La Land" win best picture because it's a beautiful gorgeous well directed & ACTED movie that we will watch for ages...
Off topic. The Shortlist of the Razzies has been announced:
WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIPOFF OR SEQUEL
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Blair Witch
The Divergent Series: Allegiant
Fifty Shades of Black (rip-off of Fifty Shades of Grey)
Independence Day: Resurgence
The Legend of Tarzan
London Has Fallen
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
Ride Along 2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Zoolander 2
WORST SCREENPLAY
Assassin’s Creed
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Dirty Grandpa
The Divergent Series: Allegiant
Fifty Shades of Black
Ghostbusters
Gods of Egypt
Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party
Independence Day: Resurgence
Mother’s Day
Suicide Squad
Zoolander 2
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cassi Davis – Boo! A Madea Halloween
Julianne Hough – Dirty Grandpa
Kate Hudson – Mother’s Day
Keira Knightley – Collateral Beauty
Helen Mirren – Collateral Beauty
Aubrey Plaza – Dirty Grandpa
Jane Seymour – Fifty Shades of Black
Octavia Spencer – The Divergent Series: Allegiant
Sela Ward – Independence Day: Resurgence
Kristen Wiig – Masterminds / Zoolander 2
Kate Winslet – Collateral Beauty
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Nicolas Cage – Snowden
Benedict Cumberbatch – Zoolander 2
Johnny Depp – Alice Through the Looking Glass
Jesse Eisenberg – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Will Ferrell – Zoolander 2
Jeff Goldblum – Independence Day: Resurgence
Jeremy Irons – Assassin’s Creed / Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Jared Leto – Suicide Squad
T.J. Miller – Office Christmas Party
Geoffrey Rush – Gods of Egypt
Brenton Thwaites – Gods of Egypt
Owen Wilson – Masterminds / Zoolander 2
WORST DIRECTOR
Dinesh D’Souza – Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party
Roland Emmerich – Independence Day: Resurgence
Justin Kurzel – Assassin’s Creed
Dan Mazer – Dirty Grandpa
Greg McLean – The Darkness
Babak Najafi – London Has Fallen
Tyler Perry – Boo! A Madea Halloween
Alex Proyas – Gods of Egypt
Zack Snyder – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Ben Stiller – Zoolander 2
Michael Tiddes – Fifty Shades of Black
WORST ACTRESS
Jennifer Aniston – Mother’s Day / Office Christmas Party
Marion Cotillard – Allied / Assassin’s Creed
Megan Fox – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Radha Mitchell – The Darkness
Tyler Perry (as Madea) – Boo! A Madea Halloween
Margot Robbie – The Legend of Tarzan / Suicide Squad
Julia Roberts – Mother’s Day
Becky Turner (as Hillary Clinton) – Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party
Naomi Watts – The Divergent Series: Allegiant / Shut In
Shailene Woodley – The Divergent Series: Allegiant
WORST ACTOR
Ben Affleck – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Kevin Bacon – The Darkness
Gerard Butler – Gods of Egypt / London Has Fallen
Henry Cavill – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Dinesh D’Souza (as himself) – Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party
Robert De Niro – Dirty Grandpa
Zac Efron – Dirty Grandpa / Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Liam Hemsworth – Independence Day: Resurgence
Brad Pitt – Allied
Will Smith – Collateral Beauty / Suicide Squad
Ben Stiller – Zoolander 2
Marlon Wayans – Fifty Shades of Black
WORST PICTURE
Assassin’s Creed
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Collateral Beauty
The Darkness
Dirty Grandpa
The Divergent Series: Allegiant
Fifty Shades of Black
Gods of Egypt
Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party
Independence Day: Resurgence
London Has Fallen
Mother’s Day
Suicide Squad
Zoolander 2
Sorry for publishing here.
It's so refreshing to see a musical without those Broadway antics that don't work in movies.
I was very cool on Manchester by the Sea, and Moonlight was my favorite film of the year until I saw La La Land. The movie was effortless. The chemistry between Stone and Gosling is even stronger than the sparks they produced in Crazy Stupid Love, and definitely one of the best of all time.
I hate the way end of year Oscar campaigning pits great movies against each other to the point of trashing to elevate their favorite films.
Um Kidman is definitely a better singer than Stone.
Great post Eric! See what you guys can do other than fussing about Amy Adams' oscar chances, right? Lol
Yeah um no, can't agree. Chazelle made his choices and we have a right to not buy them. That's how it works. It isn't missing any point. I watched La La with a great appreciation for its visual brilliance, but the rest of the film is anything but. Mediocre-to-awful singing and dancing in a musical isn't "daring" or "unconventional," it's "So what?!" It's "why was this even MADE?!"
Nice post. I really need to see Young Girls of Rochefort. (I have seen Cherbourg and could see its imprint all over La La Land.)
It's not that Chazelle needed to create a Broadway-type film, it's just that I think a lot of people (including me) are disappointed after hearing all the hype for it before being able to see it. It just got so built up in peoples' minds as the next big musical, and then you see it....and it just feels a little empty.
I'm not asking for big Broadway belters, but other than the final audition, there aren't any wow musical moments (at least for me) . It really marketed itself as being an homage to old Hollywood musicals, but the musicality just isn't there. I appreciate people like Chazelle who go out and make a musical though, and I'm glad it's going to make a lot of money. Loved the production design, cinematography, costumes, etc. but they really could have knocked it out of the park with better singers and dancers and a stronger second act. Maybe there just aren't any actors that could sell the movie and that could fill the roles.
(Quick first take originally posted 11/20/16, so pre-release and pre-"backlash")
La La Land manages to be a triumph of filmmaking and a disappointment in one of the things I love most about musicals -- singing. Chazelle is going for a Jacques Demy thing, which would be cool if the vocals were not buried in the sound mix as well as undersung. When John Legend (one of the movie's executive producers btw) sings mid-film, suddenly the joy you've been missing is there...
Absolute MVP: Gosling. Between this and The Nice Guys he's showing such versatility this year. And while I've always been an advocate of Emma Stone, if she wins for this, I will be pissed, given the competition this year and the snubbed musical ladies of bygone years. But on the whole, I really dug the film, especially its final act.
(And on 12/9/16)
If there's to be any backlash against La La Land--and that's a big if, since I wouldn't consider an aversion to musicals (hey, it exists) a backlash--it will have to do with the fact the protagonists are a struggling actress and a struggling musician, which might be a turn-off or who-gives-a-fuck for many people right now, given the state of things. And they're played by those two particular actors, as opposed to ones who like Harry Shum and Gina Rodriguez or any of the people who only get a moment to shine in the film's opening number.
I'm so glad you brought up Cherbourg. I loved every second of that movie, and La La Land. I've been depressed since Nov. 8 and felt so happy for the first time in months when I left the theater last week, even with the melancholy ending. Gosling and Stone have chemistry, yes, they're not great singers but to me, chemistry is much more important on the big screen. Stage musicals need super talented singers and dancers, as you can't see their faces. I forgave Kidman and McGregor their singing because of their onscreen vavoom.
Remember one of the big problems with the recent Hairspray Live? The lead could sing but she was a terrible Tracey w/o any relationship to any of her costars.
And, really, the internet has opened up a whole new place for hate. Also depressing.
But, I'm all in for La La Land. Bring me more good stuff, Mr. Chazelle. Please take Paul Outlaw's suggestion, would love a new movie with Shum and Rodriguez.
It wants to be Demy, but there aren't any songs as great as that other Demy inspiree- Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" music video. Not expecting giant Broadway belters, but a few catchy melodies would have made it even better in retrospect as opposed to just in the moment.
I still like the movie though, but it bothers me when I see a musical and can't understand the vocals hidden in the sound mix. I'll be so annoyed when this wins the sound mixing Oscar like all musicals do.
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