La La Land

Los Angeles is an easy city to deeply love and deeply hate, and it is impossible to describe that to someone who has never lived there. The closest a non-resident can come to gaining an understanding of that sensation is by watching Damien Chazelle’s La La Land. On the one hand, there are the warm, sun-kissed beaches, the millionaires, and the secluded canyons of the San Gabriel mountains. It’s the promised land of golden dreams for actors, musicians, and writers, where success is always right around the corner. On the other hand, you’ll find smog, traffic, and abject failure. Los Angeles, with all its promises, is a pendulum that swings widely.