CALIFORNIA DREAMING
AWARDS BECKON FOR MUSICAL SET IN TINSELTOWN WHERE FAME AND EXCITEMENT IS NEVER FAR AWAY, BUT WHERE HOPES CAN JUST AS EASILY BE DASHED
FILMS
WORDS: JOEY PASSMORE
FYI
Just like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake — with whom he shared a house for a while — Ryan Gosling got his first break as a Mouseketeer
FILM OF THE MONTH
LA LA LAND
Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, JK Simmons
→ From Damien Chazelle, the screenwriter and director behind last year’s Oscarwinning Whiplash, comes this musical drama hotly tipped to storm 2017’s awards season. When aspiring actress Mia (Stone) meets Sebastian (Gosling), a dedicated jazz musician, in Los Angeles, they become romantically involved. But they are in a city known not just for glamour and excitement but also for crushing dreams and breaking hearts. Given its obvious Oscar-baiting nature, this spectacle includes everything that you’d expect: stunning cinematography, an exquisite soundtrack, an enaging love story, original characterisation and a talented cast. Do all the pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly? It’s debatable, but you won’t find many films as ambitious or enjoyable as this. 13 January // 4/5