【France Archives】

TORONTO -- Looking at the notes I took during Damien Chazelle’s melancholy musical La La Land,France Archives one word leaps off the page. The very last word I wrote as the credits began to roll: “Wow.”

Believe the hype, people.

Propelled by the genuine chemistry shared by its two stars, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, La La Land is both magical and majestic. What writer-director Chazelle (Whiplash) has accomplished here is a true feat of filmmaking -- an ode to the dreamers of Los Angeles and the emotional rollercoaster the city insists they ride on their way to either success, failure or a compromise of the two.

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It’s funny, because I don’t really like most musicals. There’s something phony about how everyone breaks into song and dance, then resume their lives when it’s all over, as if nothing ever happened. I didn’t like the first 15 minutes of La La Landeither. I sat there worrying, "Is this film just not for me?"

Looking back now, I’ll consider those opening scenes an adjustment period, because by the end of La La LandI was reminded of the overwhelming power of that mysterious force of nature known as love.

Yes, the movie is that good.

Yes, the movie is thatgood.

Stone gives the performance of her career (even better than her Oscar-nominated turn in Birdman) as Mia, an aspiring actress who, in between humiliating auditions for distracted producers and casting directors, works as a barista on a studio lot where she’s taunted each day by women living her ultimate dream. She has a handsome boyfriend (Finn Wittrock), but he treats her like an accessory more than an actual person.

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SEE ALSO: 'La La Land' reviews find critics falling for Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone

Gosling plays Sebastian, a talented-yet-struggling jazz pianist and self-described “phoenix rising from the ashes” who has a water-stained ceiling in his apartment and no shortage of unpaid bills. Following a brief, contentious first encounter in the middle of infamous LA traffic, Sebastian and Mia’s paths cross again mere seconds after he’s been fired on Christmas (by Chazelle’s Whiplashstar J.K. Simmons, no less) for veering from a pre-approved song-list of standard holiday fare.

The duo don’t formally meet until a pool party, where Sebastian is forced to play a cheesy keytar while wearing an embarrassing ‘80s getup. It’s not long before they’re singing to each other beneath a purple-hued sky and dancing among the stars at the Griffith Observatory’s planetarium. And to further spoil the journey this star-crossed couple goes on together would be ... unforgivable.

The stunning cinematography, whimsical art direction and eye-catching costumes are exquisite, and the film shows a softer, more tender side of LA than, say, a Michael Mann movie. Strangely, La La Land’s strengths don’t lie in its music, which is fine, but not quite Once-level great. In fact, there’s only one song that really stands out — Gosling’s catchy tune “City of Stars.” Instead, the movie is at its best when its two lovebirds are simply talking to each other rather than cooing about their hopes and fears.

SEE ALSO: Emma Stone sings a tune of longing in new 'La La Land' trailer

Most movies like this would make the mistake of giving each character a sounding board, such as a best friend who either dispenses sage romantic advice or serves as comic relief, but La La Landis too smart to fall for the typical trappings of the genre. Instead, Chazelle remains focused on Mia and Sebastian’s personal and professional trials and tribulations.

La La Land is too smart to fall for the typical trappings of the genre.

Gosling is so effortlessly charming here that he manages to make the sound of blaring car horn come across like a sweet gesture. And yet, as handsome as Gosling is on the surface, his lovelorn face conveys something deeper, an infinite sadness that seeps into his music.

Still, it’s Stone who steals La La Land, masking her self-doubt with a bubbly smile and letting her expressive eyes speak volumes during the film’s pregnant pauses.

Both actors give wonderful performances, and whoever ends up producing next year’s Oscar telecast would be wise to have La La Landchoreographer Mandy Moore (not the singer/actress) put together a colorful number for the duo, who have a natural chemistry and frankly, would do a great job hosting the show together in any other year.

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And now for Chazelle, whose debut feature Guy and Madeline on a Park Benchwas also musical, though it’s Whiplashthat La La Landshares a close kinship with, as both films are about dreamers in obsessive pursuit of greatness.

La La Landis a bold, unique, emotional and heartbreaking film seemingly made by a director wise beyond Chazelle’s 31 years. Between this and Whiplash, he has truly earned his wunderkind status, and hopefully he’ll continue to resist big, loud studio movies, because he has a knack for illuminating important yet painful truths.

Arriving in Toronto on the heels of an obnoxious summer movie season, La La Landis a gentle caress of a movie -- a gorgeous lullaby that will lift you up and bring both a tear and a smile to your face. There are no guns, explosions or plane crashes -- just love and struggle, which many of us know all too well. Rarely does art have this much heart.