Winner of six different Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Direction, and Original Score, La La Land has had a lasting effect on its viewers. The film was released December 9th 2016 and has been a wild success from the start. However, many people felt disappointed in the film’s ending. After a year-long journey in the romance between an aspiring actress and jazz musician, the silver screen let the audience down easy with the harsh reality that the two would not have their happily ever after. Though the ending was shocking, there is a variety of symbolism in the film, and much of it is very relatable.
The two main characters encounter enamoring love and an electric connection, but ultimately discover conflict in their relationship. The conflict being that Mia (Winner of Best Actress, Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) both have intense dreams for their futures. The two support each other on the road to their fantasies but ultimately are forced to make the choice between staying together, and having the lives they’ve always wanted. Faced with that choice, Mia chooses to become an actress and Sebastian, a jazz club owner. Their individual dreams are complete, but without each other.
Now, some would argue that a dream without the love of your life by your side is not a dream at all, but realistically speaking, everyone has to make sacrificial choices in their lives. These characters ultimately deemed their relationship to be their sacrifice. Mia and Sebastian could not continue living in the dream world, the “La La Land” so to speak, but instead had to face the unforgiving reality that if you want your dreams to come true, you must make sacrifices along the way. Though their love is deep, it’s conflicted and this conflict is symbolic of the messiness of modern-day relationships.
Towards the end of the movie, Mia and Sebastian encounter each other once more, five years after the two have split. This time, their dreams have become realities. As Mia sits with her husband in Sebastian’s jazz club and listens to him play the song that was once dedicated to their love, what would have been the ideal life between the two flashes across the screen. The ideal and perfect life is an intimate secret that Mia and Sebastian share, they know what could have been, yet are content with what is. The viewers find themselves saying “if only he’d kissed her…” “If only her play had been a success…” A series of these “if only” statements flood the viewer’s mind before the idealistic montage ends. However, when it does end, the film forces the viewer to realize that we all have ideas about our lives, but at some point, we have to compromise and make sacrifices that change the course of our ideals. And that regardless of our constant need for a happy ending, life simply isn’t like that. The two part ways knowing they share love and respect for each other, and there seems to be a mutual feeling of appreciation for the way they helped each other achieve their dreams. The ending is not happy nor disappointing, but satisfying. The moral of the film is a breath of fresh air in a cinematic world full of happily ever after.
The overall originality of the film is enough to hold an appreciation for, however the underlying moral of the story is phenomenal. The frequent nods to Old Hollywood add depth to the journey of this messy, yet iridescent, romance. With an ending much like Roman Holiday and musicality similar to Singing in the Rain, the film’s classic perspective on modern-day romance is impeccable. Though the ending is not what viewers hope for, it does bring the realities of lasting love and romance to the limelight.