Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone), two young people in Los Angeles attempting to find success, embark on a musical and romantic love story with plenty of twists. The film is a modern musical with tap dancing and singing, but never crosses the thin line between brilliant and cheesy. Both Stone and Gosling portrayed their acting talents that got them where they are today, but showed the audience their alter egos while playing these roles. Sebastian is a pianist with a passion for jazz, while Mia is actress desperate for a call-back. The ups and downs of their journey together keep the viewer intrigued and most likely turned some views into hopeless romantics. Their on-screen chemistry looks sincere to the audience’s eye, which is crucial for any prosperous movie. However, Gosling and Stone’s spark can be attributed to their past working on films such as “Crazy, Stupid, Love” and “Gangster Squad.” In addition, the rehearsal time for “La La Land” amounted to three months of intense read-throughs and walk-throughs to ensure perfection.

Damien Chazelle, the director, worked with his Harvard roommate (Justin Hurwitz) to create a magical soundtrack and to build a unique plot. In Chazelle and Hurwitz’s previous film together, “Whiplash,” the focal point of the storyline is jazz music (notice the parallel?) and even includes J.K. Simmons (an actor also starring in “La La Land”). Both films are masterpieces, but it is not just the advanced cinematography that earned their films that title. The ending of both “Whiplash” and “La La Land” are radical and thought-invoking, and if they weren’t, it would be hard to decipher whether or not Chazelle would have received the praise he did. In fact, “La La Land” received a total of seven Golden Globe awards earlier this month! Not only did Stone and Gosling win Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively, Chazelle won Best Director at his very first appearance at the Golden Globes. Additionally, “La La Land” broke the record for most awards bestowed to a single movie.

If I haven’t already persuaded you to go out and see “La La Land” for yourself, watch this trailer to give yourself a better idea of the storyline: