Every once in a while, you come out of a movie theater feeling like youre walking on air.
It doesnt happen often, but when it does, it restores your faith in the power of cinema.
Damien Chazelles dreamy neo-retro musicalLa La Landis one of those rare films.
Credit: Dale Robinette
Its stunningly ambitious and thrillingly alive the way the best movies are.
With just his third feature, its safe to say that Chazelle is a major American filmmaker.
Shes inside the Dream Factory, but it remains just out of reach.
Hed rather make it his way (alone with his vinyl collection) or not make it at all.
Its a hell of an opening gambit.
But it tells the audience right off the bat what to expecttwo hours of blissful shoot-the-works exhuberance.
Mia and Sebastian are two of the drivers stuck in traffic.
And they have a fleeting encounter at the end of the opening number.
She continues to go to soul-crushing auditions.
He continues to tinkle away on the piano playing standards as background noise at a restaurant.
But they have each other.
Especially an early Astaire-and-Charisse-style song-and-dance number overlooking the glittering jewel-box cityscape of L.A. below.
Between this and 2011sCrazy, Stupid, Love, I cant think of an onscreen couple with better chemistry.
(We can all forget aboutGangster Squad.)
They literally float away as they dance together inLa La Land.
And you dont question it for a second.
You just think,Of course they do.
If anything, the final ten minutes ofLa La Landare the bestand most impressively powerfulof the film.
There have been a handful of lavish, big-studio musicals in recent years.
But for the most part, theyve been bloated Broadway adaptations full of sound and fury.
And some moviegoers may, no doubt, feel a little tentative about the genre.
ButLa La Landis the anti-whatever those are.
Its more intimate and personal and affecting…more magical.
My advice is to seeLa La Landand surrender to it.
It will make you feel like youre walking on air too.A
