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Review: La La Land

La La Land

Film Review

 

I didn’t know what to expect when I went to see ‘La La Land’ for the first time as I presumed it would be an average musical, maybe a clichéd love story, but I left the cinema feeling inspired and knowing that was by far my favourite musical.

 

As someone who is a musical fanatic, I obviously wanted to see La La Land and had listened to the soundtrack on repeat before I saw the film. As soon as I watched the opening scene with the song ‘Another Day Of Sun’ I immediately knew I was going to love this movie, as a queue of traffic waits impatiently for the cars to start moving then suddenly burst into song in true musical style.

 

Sebastian and Mia start off with a hate/love relationship as we are first introduced to their stories as struggling artists then they finally have a brief encounter in which Sebastian ignores Mia after he s fired from his job, they continue to meet and eventually have an almost romantic moment in the famous scene in the romantic setting as the sun rises. Their relationship develops as they go from refusing to have feelings for one another in ‘A Lovely Night’ to opening the opportunity to a potential romance in ‘City Of Stars’. The characters go through ups and downs.

 

The songs flow perfectly with the beautiful storyline as Sebastian and Mia’s romance blossoms; there is undeniable chemistry between Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling’s characters as they struggle to see eye to eye about their passions and eventually falling in love. Simple details in the film made me fall in love with it, for example Ryan Gosling’s solo of ‘City Of Stars’ depicts him wondering ‘is this the start of something wonderful’ and Mia and Sebastian’s duet is played in a more upbeat pace and the question of their connection being something wonderful is answered as their duet shows that they have both found love.

 

Although both characters got a happy ending, they had to sacrifice their relationship for their dreams. What could have been their futures together is shown in a heartbreaking but beautiful scene at the end of the film as Mia sees Sebastian in his club ‘Seb’s’ their whole future as it would have been in an ideal world is shown in a montage of almost every scene in the film and combines every song. What moved me the most was how at the start of the montage, Sebastian is playing the same notes on the piano as he is after the montage, reminding the audience that this is a sudden flash back to reality.

 

Damien Chazelle’s ability to capture an audience in an incredible musical masterpiece and make them so emotionally invested in the characters is truly amazing.

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Review: To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

Book Review 

The brutality and sheer horror of racial discrimination in the 1930’s as told through the eyes of children. ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee explores the themes of justice, social inequality and prejudice. The children’s innocence is so contrasting to the social injustice surrounding them in an extremely racist white community.

 

The novel starts off fairly innocent as the children in the novel are almost naive to the racial discrimination surrounding their worlds but as the novel goes on and Atticus Finch defends a black man who is accused of raping a white girl and Jem and Scout are bullied by other children because of this, highlighting the racism and hatred of the white community. Soon the children come to realise that the world they live in is cruel and unjust.

 

Their first judgments of the character of ‘Boo Radley’ is that he is a terrifying monstrous like character but they soon come to realize that he remains in his house for the mast majority of the novel as he is shy and occasionally violent hence why there are so many bad rumours about him which is symbolic to the racism against the black community that the children are almost naive to.

 

He is seen to be a monster to the children which is ironic, as Arthur Radley has seen the cruelty of the people in the community hence why he choses to stay inside. He shows true kindness towards the end of the novel when he saves the children from Bob Ewell.

 

The children soon see a different side of him after the trial when they see the cruelty and power of white men. “Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand something. I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time… it’s because he wants to stay inside.”

 

The change in their lives after the trial is reflected on their views of Arthur Radley as they clearly see the clear difference between good and evil and they so wrongly judged him at the start of the novel just as the racist white community wrongly judged Tom Robinson when he is assumed to have raped a white girl and the novel tragically ends with his death due to the wrong accusations of the white men in power.

 

I think the character of Arthur Radeley is very symbolic of people assuming things based on rumours and wrongly judging good people.

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Review: Frances Ha

Frances Ha

In 2012, I went to the Filmhouse to see ‘Frances Ha’ as a naive twelve year old, and from that day, my interest in indie films became a passion. A strong one.

 

The struggles of a young woman in New York are presented so realistically and in a non-romanticized way – that is what makes the movie so interesting. The use of minimalistic scenes and stand-out intimate moments are what make the movie truly beautiful. The way it portrays two friends becoming distant over time because of relationships and work and then eventually coming back together in the final scene, when the future is still slightly unclear but Frances’ life and relationships with her friends seem to fall into place, is truly astounding. I have never seen a movie that shows such developed characters as well, and not overdramatizing their complex relationships. The movie is so modern and enhancing that you completely forget the movie is in black and white.

 

One of my favourite things about this film is that it isn’t based on a romance or a partner that the main character is trying to get over, which is such a cliché, but it is solely based on friendship and the pursuit of happiness while struggling to find a job and earn a living. The movie depicts a realistic portrayal of living in New York; Frances struggles with work, relationships and accomplishing her dreams. The final scene brings everything together with a hint of uncertainty for the future. Frances’ bad luck and misfortunes are shown so effortlessly in a way the audience can relate to the character. The whole movie being in black and white adds to the nostalgia of being lost or confused at some point in your life. Even the way the cameras are positioned give you a clear perspective from Frances’ point of view, letting the audience relate to the character. Small nostalgic moments really stand out on this film, making it more personal.

 

‘Frances Ha’ gives a beautiful and personal insight into the struggles of growing up and trying to find yourself in a world of competitors and even growing distant from old friends and accepting adulthood. The movie shows the powerful character development and how unresolved friendships and unemployment turns into new opportunities and stability despite the crashes along the way. Throughout the movie, Frances never fails to laugh at her pain as life beats her up. It’s the perfect Indie movie minus any over romanticized nostalgia or unnecessary love interests, as it only focuses on the reality of life whilst making it an insightful cinematic masterpiece with its simplicity and wonderful, upbeat soundtrack.

 

‘Frances Ha’ is a perfect portrayal of a woman struggling to live in New York City while developing her complicated relationships with other characters and struggling to become a dance choreographer and eventually achieving what she wants to achieve. It’s real, it’s credible, and it’s beautiful.