I was recently having a conversation with a friend of mine about the movie La La Land. Everyone has a lot to say about the ending, whether they liked it or not. If you haven’t seen the movie, reading this will spoil the ending for you, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, save this blog for after you’ve seen it. I tend to get a little riled up when talking about the ending of La La Land. Here we have an absolutely gorgeous romantic movie (a genre of which I am not usually a fan) that utilizes musical theater in such a way to actually make the love between the couple somehow seem more real than otherwise – that in itself is an astounding cinematic feat. Usually in the classic musical movies we have to sustain our disbelief that the leading man and leading lady would fall for each other so swiftly, but we get over it because the music and dancing are so engaging, we want to believe it. In La La Land, the music, the glamour, the dancing, actually affected me in such a way as to make the connection between them more believable, despite the irony that the genre of musical theater is a step further away from reality. Seeing the couple flow so beautifully together as dancing partners as they were getting to know one another seemed to reveal a deeper understanding and synchronicity between them, rather than taking a break from reality to be entertained. We see them grow closer season by season, believing in one another’s dreams, each one helping the other one reach them. And then we see one fight between them and suddenly, out of nowhere, ::poof:: Mia gets a gig in Paris and so despite the fact that they pledge forever-love to one another, a short-term stint across the pond is an insurmountable obstacle for this affair. Yeah, yeah, Sebastian’s tour life has put a strain on them for a while, but how did the thought of taking a break and going with her to Paris never cross his mind? If I’d watched this movie on Netflix in my bedroom I would’ve been screaming at my iPad screen.
Why the strong feelings? Quite simply, because one thing I know about love between a man and a woman is that if it’s that good, if one finds the person who helps you become the woman or man said person is created to be, then shouldn’t it be worth fighting for? At least for a few months in Paris? Is that too much to ask? Because if love is not worth fighting for, then what is? If a man is not willing to fight for the woman who awoke his heart to see his full life’s potential, what will he fight for? And yes, vice versa for the woman, but there does seem to be a dearth of male characters who fight for their women these days. It seems like a rarity to see a movie about a believable, positive romance with any lasting potential. Didn’t they used to make films in which love won all the time? It would be so refreshing to see a movie about two people who fought for the love they had – and overcame.
In the above-mentioned conversation I had, my friend made an interesting point about La La Land’s conclusion. She said the ending was effective because, look at how strongly people like myself felt about it. She believed it stirred up such a passionate reaction because while we wish the ending was more satisfying, it depicted the unfortunate reality of how life usually is, which is what really upsets us. This very statement got me even more upset (not at her, but at the issue). As artists, we have such an opportunity in our hands – we have the power to choose whatever ending we want! So perhaps (just perhaps) the inner conflict for the writers of La La Land was, do we choose the ending that will strike a deep chord in people because they will relate to the sadness of the lack of resolution (since Mia is now married to someone else despite stating that she will always love Sebastian – and they clearly still love each other), or do we write the ending that depicts what we believe life could and should be like, with the possibility of instilling hope in the hearts of our audiences, and who knows – maybe even influencing them towards making similar choices in their own lives? Some say “art imitates life”. Oscar Wilde said “life imitates art”. Maybe it’s up to the artist.
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