La La Land is at it’s heart a love story, but not just a love story between two beautiful performers. It is a love story between music and film. The way the music intertwines with the colorfully lit scenes is perfection. The scenes roll and spin like you were dancing to music yourself.

La La Land begins as a classically ambitious story of two performers working to achieve their dreams in the city of Los Angeles. Sebastian, played by Ryan Gosling, is a jazz pianist aspiring to single-handedly save the genre by building his own jazz club in the city. Mia, played by Emma Stone, is an aspiring actress who keeps having bad luck at crucial auditions.

The two keep running into each other, and the destiny of a spectacular story takes over. The love between Sebastian and Mia is shy in the beginning but slowly grows into passion through the beautiful music and colorful cinematography.

Some scenes are so beautiful they distracted me from what was going on in the story. Sebastian and Mia often are painted with powerful and colorful spotlights with dark backgrounds that create scenes that look like they’re out of a painting. Even the jazz clubs and movie theaters they visit are laid with bright neon signs that fill dark nights with subtle glows.

In one of the earlier scenes Mia is walking down the street after leaving a disappointing night with her friends, she stops in front a restaurant where she hears someone playing piano. Unbeknownst to her it’s Sebastian, but as she listens outside, she is placed in the middle of the scene where a frame of red neon on a teal wall surrounds her. The music combined with the curiosity of Mia’s pause makes such a small scene, into an incredibly memorable scene. Every scene is like this, each shot, each note played, spools this love story into something incredible.

As the movie goes on, Sebastian and Mia’s lives get more complicated, which creates new storylines. The love only grows, but that too makes things more complicated. The two are so in love that they lose sight of why they’re in L.A. in the first place. This only adds to the emotional value and the attachment you feel to Sebastian and Mia.

This is where things really get interesting because now you have the love of Sebastian and Mia, with both of their individual dreams. As Sebastian tries to make more money for Mia, he loses sight of his dream, and what he truly values in his life. Mia spends more time with Sebastian leading to her missing more of her dream as well. They’re both so into each other that they lose sight of what matters most. Then the question appears…What does matter most? Their dreams? Or their love?

Damien Chazelle wrote and directed La La Land and did a fantastic job. It’s clear this was a project done with time and finesse, which in turn was rewarded with an Oscar nomination for best picture. A well-deserved reward in fact. The music, done by Justin Hurwitz also nominated at the Oscars, includes lots of jazz and a heart-tugging main theme played by Sebastian himself. Linus Sandgren designed the cinematography which, shocker, is also nominated for an Oscar.

All of these things make La La Land the great film it is. It’s rare to see the same quality La La Land has in other movies. This movie dives deep into what love and life really do to people. Many people struggle with the things they love the most, and La La Land really delivers on what it’s like to be in love and so torn at the same time. I couldn’t have loved La La Land more. I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars.