La La Land – Film Review

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

Director: Damien Chazelle

Synopsis: An actress desperately trying to catch her big break in Hollywood meets a jazz pianist struggling to make ends meet, and the duo begin a blossoming romance.

Review: The art of cinema is one that can have great impact on the human soul whenever we sit down to watch a film for the first time. Cinema has the power to generate so many emotions among its audience, from the most euphoric moments of unrivalled joy to the dark moments of despair. Writer and director Damien Chazelle’s previous directorial outing Whiplash certainly had a mixture of those happy and sad moments, more of the latter than the former mind you. Yet for his new picture, again with a musical theme at its brimming heart, definitely has a lot more of those moments of pure unparalleled joy.

An insane but quite brilliant musical number set on an LA freeway sets you up for the kind of ride Chazelle is about to take you on, as we meet Emma Stone’s Mia, an actress who, despite audition after audition, is just not getting any rewards. By chance she runs into Ryan Gosling’s Seb an aspiring Jazz pianist who also happens to be in something of a rut, this is until he meets Mia, and the two fall head over heels for one another and begin planning a life for themselves together, with both having big aspirations and dreams. It all seems so perfect for them, until their careers threatens to pull them away from one another, and both are presented with a difficult decision. Though this is very much a musical at is heart, its packed with great humour, romance and drama all fused into one glorious picture. right from the aforementioned musical freeway scene, you’ll be hard pressed to not find yourself tapping along with the music.

With this marking their third collaboration since Crazy, Stupid Love and Gangster Squad, it’s crystal clear at this point that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have brilliant chemistry together, and it is their chemistry along with brilliant performances from them both that help elevate La La Land to a golden standard for musical cinema. As well as the electric performances, the music is also beautiful to listen to. With each note that Stone and Gosling sing, it will find its way to melt your heart and fall in love with these characters, even if a member of the audience is about as emotionless as a Cyberman from Doctor Who, it will lift your spirits and leave you floating on cloud nine. All of us undoubtedly have dreams and aspirations for want we want to do with our lives, and this film has much to say about following your dreams, that will hit home with almost everyone.

Despite those moments of sheer joy, it is not all sunshine and rainbows for our leads, as they encounter some tricky obstacles in both of their lives. Rest assured however, that no one is throwing any chairs at anyone this time, and no psycho music teachers brutally tearing people down. This is nowhere near as intense as Whiplash was, but it’s just as well written and equally tremendously acted, with a glorious cameo appearance from J.K Simmons, this time not in raging jazz teacher mode.

Chazelle, with only his third feature film, seems to have found his spark, when it comes to live action musicals, currently he is the man of the moment, and is certainly proving himself to be a formidable director and one to watch. A recording breaking Golden Globe haul accomplished, with the Oscars in sight, La La Land looks certainly set to sing and dance its way to more awards glory.

With some thumping good tunes, Stone and Gosling on electric form, and a deep, thought provoking story, this is cinema at its heart-warming and magical best.

Me Before You – Film Review

Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Charles Dance, Janet McTeer, Jenna Coleman, Matthew Lewis, Brendan Coyle

Director: Thea Sharrock

Synopsis: After losing her job, a young woman finds herself work caring for a young disabled man, and the two form an unlikely bond.

Review: The twist on the common love story, where one of two of the people involved have a tragic set of circumstances is a route that many romantic films seem to be taking these days. The likes of 2014’s The Fault in our Stars, a tale of two young people stricken by illness. In this tale crafted from the novel of the same name by JoJo Moyes, who is also on screenplay duties, one half of this unlikely pairing has his life changed forever after a tragic road accident. The other is a down on her luck woman who is employed by his parents to be a full time carer.

Full time caring is almost certainly not an easy profession in the slightest and life for plucky and chatty Louisa Clark (Clarke) is certainly that in the initial stages as her patient Will (Claflin) is cold and detached towards her. His accident has left its mark and he is bluntly unwilling to communicate with many people. Yet through her resilience and charm, she cracks that hard exterior and the two begin to build a relationship. Clarke is a bit irksome in the early stages of the film, she is certainly not the Mother of Dragons here. Having said that, overall her performance is compelling as their relationship grows. Claflin too also delivers a superb performance. Their chemistry together is believable and you will them to cherish the other’s company. The rest of the cast certainly bring their best, but it is the performances of the two leads that drive the film forwards.

The script tries to manage comedy, love and tragedy at various points, to mixed results. The dialogue is far from the atrocius levels of say Twilight, but it could certainly be improved in more than few places. There are some humorous moments of course, but ultimately the story, being centred about a man who has essentially lost control of his entire body, is a little bit sombre. Yet there are some positive and cheery messages that the viewer can cling to if they find themselves in the face of adversity or times of hardship. As one character says “You get one life, it’s your duty to life your life as fully as possible.” It can be easy to feel regret the circumstances, but above all, you must not lose heart, and cherish those closest to you.

Controversy over the film’s handling of the subject matter has surfaced, with the ending of the film being the main focus of the criticism. It is understandable criticism, but one would hope that the film’s positive messages can leave the viewer hope and encouragement when the credits begin to roll, even if the tears are flowing, which they probably might.

The performances of Claflin and Clarke are excellent, and despite the film’s sombre tone, there are plenty of positive messages for audiences to cling to.