Canyon Hills High School recently released “La La Land” as the theme for the annual Spring Fling dance, so what should you be expecting? For those who haven’t seen the Oscar winning film, “La La Land” follows an aspiring actress, Emma Stone, and a struggling jazz pianist, Ryan Gosling, in their journey through dreams, love, and loss. The film was released in 2016, yet still holds a huge following and people share their love for it year after year.
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling’s chemistry in the movie is unmatched. The casting could not have been better for a playful and intimate couple falling in and out of love. The two actors have shared this chemistry before in the 2013 film, “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” which explains how flawless their connection is. Throughout “La La Land,” the shared looks, dialogue, and musical numbers together express their closeness and growing of their relationship. The talent of these actors is unbelievable, each having more than 30 movies, ranging from sci-fi, comedy, action and romance. They have a large span of skills when it comes to building relationships within a cast and shaping themselves into the characters they are portraying, making the viewing experience extremely immersive.
The soundtrack adds just as much to the movie as the casting does, if not more. The most iconic songs include, “Mia & Sebastian’s Theme” and “City Of Stars,” which is sung by the main characters. Both songs have a melodic, somber tone to it, quickly switching the theme of the movie from romantic to sorrowful. Many people can immediately recognize “Mia & Sebastian’s Theme” from the first few notes of the piano. The easily recognizable song expresses the journey the characters followed throughout the movie, a slow start of playfulness and curiosity, to the build up of a strong and loving relationship, down to the unwanted fall of their love. Though the theme includes no lyrics, it says so much. Justin Hurwitz, the pianist who played on the soundtrack, crafted a song with one instrument, creating a catchy and powerful song to absorb the viewer into the love story.
This movie thrives in their soundtrack because of the fact that it is a musical. Musicals can either reel in an audience, or push them away. I personally reside in the middle and with this in mind, “La La Land” remains one of my favorite films. This movie has changed the outlook on musicals for hundreds, it has a balance between musical outbursts and storytelling. The alignment of songs and pacing of the story felt just right. The musical numbers were not overpowering or obnoxious, but instead supportive and necessary.
The film is beautiful both musically and cinematically, but the ending has upset many fans. The bittersweet ending gives a sense of reality, it expresses that not every relationship makes it to the end. I believe this is what makes the movie so special, it does something not a lot of movies do today, stay realistic. Canyon Hills has chosen “La La Land” as the theme because of the many students who share a love for the film.
ASB student, Sarah Chevrette, states “I thought it was weird that ASB was planning dances without any consultation with the school, so we pitch ideas and vote on what we want students to vote for. We whittled it down to La La Land, Spring Fling, and Night on Broadway, and La La Land won.”
Canyon Hills students have spoken. Getting a say in anything school related feels empowering, that us students can speak for our wants, and for Spring Fling it was to bring “La La Land” to life. As we look forward to the dance, we can be appreciative of the film that will soon shape Spring Fling.
