‘Here’s to the fools who dream.’: The Anniversary of La La Land’s Release in the UK

By Ben Bryant, 3rd Year History

The theatrical release poster of La La Land (2016)

The 2003 meeting of Damien Chazelle and Justin Hurwitz at Harvard University would prove pivotal for the renewed popularity of both jazz and musicals in film. They first worked together in creating the indie-pop band Chester French, and by 2009, found themselves with a successful independent film.

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench was a romantic musical directed by Chazelle, which featured a mixture of jazz and more traditional musical numbers, written by Hurwitz. It tells the tale of Guy, a promising jazz trumpeter, and Madeline, an unemployed introvert, who have fallen out of love. Guy and Madeline presents its protagonists with the dilemma of whether they should rekindle their lost romance, or let the past go, and was met with great critical success.

Justin Hurwitz, Damien Chazelle and Emma Stone (left to right) at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2016.

Hurwitz and Chazelle moved to Los Angeles in 2010 to begin work on new films, armed with the hope of obtaining financing thanks to their previous success. Chazelle wrote the script of La La Land during this time but was unable to find a studio willing to fund it, so his attention turned to what would become Whiplash.

Chazelle completed the script for Whiplash in 2013, and debuted an eighteen-minute short film version at the Sundance Film Festival the same year. By channelling his experiences in a competitive jazz environment, he created a compelling narrative, which, in turn, attracted the funding needed for the full feature-length film. Whiplash tells the story of Andrew Neiman, an aspiring jazz drummer who relentlessly pursues perfection under his abusive mentor, Terrence Fletcher, to leave behind a legendary status like that of his idol, Buddy Rich.

The theatrical release poster of Whiplash (2014)

The triumph of Whiplash finally established Hurwitz and Chazelle as a Hollywood goldmine - and Summit Entertainment picked up La La Land. After the original duo of Emma Watson and Miles Teller dropped out from their starring roles as Mia and Sebastian, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling were cast, and filming took place in 2015. 

La La Land tells an unrelentingly realistic story about love and loss, as Sebastian Wilder (Gosling) pursues his dream of success as a jazz pianist, while Mia Dolan (Stone) aspires to act on both stage and screen. They meet repeatedly, but love does not appear at first sight. Instead, their relationship naturally blossoms over many encounters before they fall in love and move in together. When Sebastian finds work as the keyboard player for an incredibly successful jazz-pop fusion band, Mia accuses him of abandoning his dreams of pure, traditional jazz. Meanwhile, her one-woman, self-written play fails to attract an audience to its opening night, leading to the collapse of their bond and their respective dreams.

Sebastian later receives a phone call from an influential casting director who attended and loved Mia’s play, and wishes to invite her to audition for a lead role in an upcoming film. Sebastian persuades Mia to attend, and Mia delivers the aptly titled, gut-punching musical number ‘Audition (The Fools Who Dream)’. It is only by sacrificing their relationship, that Sebastian and Mia can successfully pursue their dreams, knowing that while they cannot thrive together, that they shall always love each other.

Five years later, Mia is a glamorous Hollywood actress: famous, married and a mother. She stumbles upon a jazz bar with her husband and recognises its logo as the one she designed. Sebastian has also achieved his dream, and now runs a popular, traditional jazz club. When he notices Mia in the crowd, the two imagine their life together had their passions not clashed with their love, then part with a smile that ‘you could miss if you blinked’. 

The parting look shared between Mia and Sebastian (La La Land, 2016)

To say that La La Land was met with critical acclaim would be an understatement. It received the most nominations at the 70th BAFTA Awards, the most Golden Globes won by a single film and six accolades at the 89th Academy Awards. Whilst Best Picture at the Oscars instead went to Moonlight, the impact of La La Land has been undeniable and its direction, casting and music have been universally praised. Not only does La La Land’s success show the decade-spanning appeal of classic Hollywood musicals, it also, alongside Whiplash, popularised jazz on the global stage.

However, this has come with its fair share of problems. The film, particularly Gosling and his character Sebastian, have been criticised for whitewashing jazz, a musical genre pioneered by Black artists and a cornerstone of Black culture. Many have criticised Chazelle’s creation of a white protagonist whose primary concern is traditionalism and purity in a genre that is uniquely Black-American, one that was integral to the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century. The film itself is not racist, and Sebastian's purism is countered more than it is endorsed, but it remains a concern that permeates the often white-male-dominated world of Hollywood.

La La Land and Whiplash both deliver important stories about the price of dreams. In the former, two people recognise the price of their dreams but choose to pursue them regardless, cherishing the short time they had together. In the latter, the protagonist is unyielding in his journey to stardom, even at the cost of his friends, his family and indeed, sometimes himself. La La Land continues to be analysed, loved and reworked. The bitter realism of its depiction of the world of music and drama gives it both longevity and something more to say. La La Land is a love letter to Los Angeles, to art and to everyone who has ever been passionate about something.

If you’re interested in reading more about La La Land, take a look at:

https://medium.com/@theeighth/symbolism-of-colour-in-la-la-land-83b1d71892d

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/06/la-la-land-criticism-race-gender-jazz-awards

Edited by Scarlett Bantin