As I'm certain most of you would know, La La Land is an American film written and directed by the talented Damien Chazelle- it was released in 2016, a whopping 4 years ago, and even now it clings to my memory as if it's only just been put out there.
Starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, the film follows the lives of an aspiring actress and a jazz pianist trying to make it big in the city of angels- like any romance, they have their ups and downs, and by the end of the story they find themselves exactly where they'd wanted in the beginning of it. Not together, but as the owner of a jazz club & a well known starlet.
Now, what brings La La Land to my list of favorites is not the wonderfully realistic ups and downs the characters face, nor is it the character development or the enthralling music; I'm a sucker for good writing, and this film excels in both it's script and (most importantly) it's non-verbal storytelling abilities. Now, more specifically- How Chazelle uses color to tell the whole story without a word.
If you have seen the movie, I'm sure you will have noticed the aesthetically capturing color palette used throughout- on the surface, one may dismiss the colors selected as typical, used to make the cinematography appealing to the pretentious, cult-like L.A devotees around the world- you know what I mean.
When dissecting the film for the tale told by the hues alone, we first look at the set of colors associated with either of the main characters; Sebastian and Mia.
With Mia, you'll notice the use of the holy trinity- or the 'primary colors', red, yellow, and blue. You see her in bright monochrome dresses, never blending a shade. This is before she meets Sebastian, who we find in warm tones, shades of colors blended together- burnt oranges, browns, black and white. In the movie poster, we see this exact color schism: Mia in her flamboyant yellow, Sebastian in his almost vintage black and white.
This is not just simply 'creating an aesthetic' or giving the characters their assigned colors. This is the basis of the story being told.
Mia's palette of stark, solid colors is homage to her desire to appeal to the superficial world of Hollywood, of wanting to stand out- it is also a nod to her immaturity, lack of experience, her whole aura of being 'brand new'.
Sebastian is the opposite of this; his muted shades show the audience a sense of being weathered, but most importantly highlight his desire to feed the 'real' audience of LA, minus all the flashy colors and glamour- his palette shows his dedication to his art, not caring for the face value he presents people.
The magic begins after a few of their interactions. As the film progresses, we get to watch their colors blend into each other; we watch Mia's undiluted blocks of color blur into a spectrum, skillfully showing her detachment to the superficial idea of LA as she falls deeper in love with Sebastian, while we watch Sebastian world dive into the spotlight of red, yellow, and blues as he signs a contract with a band he has little desire to be in. This is presented by the lights at the concert, costumes, photoshoots. Sebastian's level of happiness plummets, as does Mia's.
Throughout their relationship, we can depend on the lighting to show us the status of how they're feeling.
Most of their intimate moments are showered in a light made of a blend of two or more colors, acting as a visual hug or another way to show the audience how they melt into each other. These scenes show their personalities intertwining, their colors balancing against each other, explaining to us that they are there for one another.
For example, the dinner scene. Encased in green light, we watch them perform their duet, City of Stars- and as the dinner goes sideways, we watch their relationship face how it isn't holding up all that well. This single tone lighting is to show the audience that they aren't 'blending' anymore, that they've missed out somewhere and have ceased to contribute to the other's shade. Basically, the stand-alone color shows exactly that; the characters in question are alone, despite being in company of each other. In the parts of that scene where there is more than one color, it's used to show a distinct split between the two characters.
As they fall apart, their separate and crawl back into the mold they had been in prior to their engagement. Sebastian eventually quits his band and regains his happiness, while Mia goes on to make it big and regains hers. In true film fashion, both are forever changed by the experience of loving each other.
The colors tell the story with the exact same caliber that the spoken script does, and provides a deeper insight into the character's unsaid mental process and state of mind. Mia goes from unblended to blended to a healthy balance of both, while Sebastian goes from blended to unblended to the same healthy balance between both.
Even though they do not end up together, they both end up exactly where they always hoped they would; despite being a 'cliche' story of an aspiring musician and actress, the romance is painfully realistic and shows that not everything is always meant to be.
The segment at the end of the film (click underlined words for links!) further shines a spotlight on the message the director is working to out forward; In the ending scene of the movie, the characters run through the entirety of the storyline in a few minutes, with no dialogue and in a very 'perfect' way. They get along immediately, they cycle through their lives in a blaze of color and ease. They appear to dance through a diorama, a reference to the Hollywood glamour as well as the fake nature of the scenario. Essentially, the ending segment shows what could have been- or what would've been in a perfect world.
In the middle of this scene, there is a moment where Mia is led away from Sebastian momentarily, where she is in an audition room.
Even in this dream scenario, the colors switch to black and white to show their disconnect from one another, completely drawn out by the literal black line- or a wall- between the pair.
I'm using this little scene to set my color interpretation in stone. Right after they are back in each other's arms, we see the explosion of superficial shades go right back in place; red, yellow, and blue.
In conclusion, La La Land has some of the best visual storytelling I've seen. I'd urge you to watch the movie on mute and try see how much you can grasp about the characters based purely on color schemes and lighting, but the music is so lovely it would be a great loss to miss out on it. Solution? Switch the language to one you have no hope of understanding and then go for it.
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