La La Land is set in modern day Los Angeles, California as the hopes and dreams of many turn into a game of tag, in pursuit of chasing their happiness. Directed and written by Damien Chazelle, Mia (Emma Stone), is an aspiring actress, bouncing between auditions while also being a barista and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), is a talented jazz pianist playing away his time in restaurants and bars, waiting for the day when he will be able to open his own. Meeting each other multiple times Mia and Sebastian helplessly fall for each other, but aren’t sure if their love can last as their careers soon escalade. This musical comedy-drama grabbed the attention of not only teenage romantics, like myself, but also older generations.

With the burst of the first song I could tell I would love this film. La La Land was filled with wonderful musical tunes, but along with that there were small bits humor and a love story that anyone could be drawn to. I found myself accompanied by the elderly couple next to me giggling to funny phrases that Sebastian and Mia would spit at each other, as well as in awe at magical connections between the characters. The ambitious duo, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, perfectly captured the two characters flawlessly with much chemistry.

What makes this film so special is that all of the dancing and singing clips were filmed in one take, the memorization skills that they would have to come with were amazing. My favorite scene of this film was when Mia and Sebastian sat at a piano singing a lovely tune. The director left the scene where they laughed through the song, almost like it was naturally performed. La La Land wasn’t filmed with “perfect” scenes which made me fall more in love with the story, because it seemed more life-like. This film is definitely a well done production and worth the see!  Critics are calling this recently released film of December 9, 2016, a “masterpiece,” with 14 Oscar nominations along with Golden Lion, Academy Awards Best Picture, Volpi Cup Best Actress nominations.