Classic musicals from Singing in the Rain to An American in Paris to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg are being invoked to praise La La Land. There are comparisons to golden age stars like Shirley MacLaine, Grace Kelly and Gene Kelly. The Damien Chazelle film, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, has critics at Venice falling in love and believing in the magic of cinema again. La La Land just topped our most anticipated fall film list and it looks like the excited anticipation was proven correct just a day later.
Here is an assortment of what is being said...
“La La Land” is a film you simply never want to stop watching. It has wisdom and joy and sadness and such magic, from the evocative power of music to the transportive power of movies. It is a heartfelt lament for the fact that the place where those things meet — the movie musical — all but disappeared from our screens, and a passionately argued, utterly convincing manifesto for its return. The Playlist.
Chazelle creates musical numbers for the pair of them, and Gosling and Stone carry these off with delicacy and charm, despite or because of the fact that they are not real singers. []Stone is beautifully cast and something in the hesitancy and even frailty of her singing voice is just right. They are both very accomplished dancers within a shrewdly limited range. The Guardian
Fans of musicals will adore this sparkling cinematic love letter. The Wrap
La La Land wants to remind us how beautiful the half-forgotten dreams of the old days can be – the ones made up of nothing more than faces, music, romance and movement. It has its head in the stars, and for a little over two wonderstruck hours, it lifts you up there too. The Telegraph.
The American trades are more measured with THR saying:
..while aiming for poignance, the film loses some of its edge in this final stretch and arguably overstays its welcome.
Variety is equally guarded:
La La Land isn’t a masterpiece (and on some level it wants to be). Yet it’s an exciting ramble of a movie, ardent and full of feeling, passionate but also exquisitely — at times overly — controlled.
No matter though, everyone is in love with the leads, particularly Stone. She's being called "simply a joy" and "never have been better". And for all of you best actress enthusiasts, i.e. all of us, how about this hyperbole from Variety:
Stone, a supporting nominee for “Birdman,” is so casually brilliant I almost want to say at this grotesquely early date she’s the one to beat for best actress. Certainly of the films that have been seen this year, she blows the competition away.