La La Land (2016)

This was the first time I’ve ever re-watched a movie in theaters and as some very averse to rewatches, this was genuinely a different experience.

I am very fond of director Damien Chazelle. The way is able to articulate how if one has a serious dream, you need to make sacrifices for a chance at success. In Whiplash we see the costs of what wholehearted try can add to, but La La Land is a bit different. Seb and Mia, each, have lofty goals that are going to take a lot out of them. The issue is Seb has been hit with failure before and has turned ,concurrently, cynical yet unrelenting in his quest to starting his own Jazz club. He’s hardened and inflexible. We see this early with his take against the Samba Tapas combo yet need to combine chicken and jazz. It’s hypocrisy but he’s blind to it.

Mia is different. She is a self-proclaimed dreamer. She probably was itching to get out and sing Another Day of Sun. Unfortunately, she’s not stupid enough to roll with all the failures and we see her slowly plunge into despair. Luckily, she’s meets Seb. He knows what it takes to accomplish a dream and they are able to compliment each other in a way that gives Mia the courage to put herself out there with her show and again with the audition.

He helped her accomplish her dreams that would’ve otherwise ended with her much like Seb.

The epilogue shows where the two converge, not just from each other, but how they feel now they accomplished their dreams. Mia has everything she dreamt of (at least what we knew from the movie) and she’s clearly very happy, at the very least content. Seb is much unchanged. He got his new Steinway and isn’t satisfied with it. “Not too bad is great.” Not the most convincing. He doesn’t even smile until he has to put on a face on stage. Then he plays the song, their song. We’re whisked into a dream sequence as they don’t sacrifice their relationship for their personal goals. Instead, Seb shoos off John Legend. He moves to Paris with Mia and forgets the Jazz club. Anyway, “Paris has great Jazz.” Emma’s life, as we can tell between the epilogue opening and the dream, remains unchanged sans Seb and a now cuter kid. I think this plays more as Seb saying he regrets leaving to go on tour and not focusing on them.

In truth, this outcome was never possible. Seb was never going to give up with his dream and maybe that’s ok. If he did, would he ever be content? Would a part of him not always hold onto the dream of retaking that club? I think so. It’s easy to say I should’ve let it go once you alright got a taste for it.