La La Land (12A)

SOME films reflect the times in which they are made, such as the jaunty comedies of the Swinging 1960s or the conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s. Others, such as La La Land, feel like antidotes, as though they have arrived just in the nick of time. For anyone entering 2017 with a sense of dread, this musical romance offers a joyous diversion, a reason to feel optimistic.

That’s not to presume pure escapism or a happy ending. Like director Damien Chazell’s breakthrough drama, Whiplash, this concerns the tension between professional dreams and personal happiness; its romance between a jazz pianist and an aspiring actress finding their way in contemporary Los Angeles isn’t plain sailing. Yet the delivery is so perfect, with its combination of nostalgia and modernity, romance and wit, carried along by a series of divine song and dance numbers, that it’s impossible not to feel uplifted.

Chazell nails his colours to the mast from the get-go, with a title card declaring that the film has been shot in cinemascope – the popular widescreen format of the 1950s and 1960s – and a bravura opening sequence on an LA freeway that features the vibrant primary colours and lush orchestrations typical of that period’s musicals (of which he cites Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg as his favourite).

The number feels like a left-field breath of fresh air. As a traffic jam clogs the freeway, dozens of commuters leave their cars and start singing in celebration of "another day in the sun", dancing on their hoods as cyclists and skateboarders criss-cross their paths, the choreography stretching as far as the eye can see.

Amid the bonhomie we meet our protagonists, Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone), in more familiar road rage mood. It will be the first of a few antagonistic meetings, before the pair drop their guard and fall in love.

Music, particularly jazz, is a driving influence for the young director. Whiplash followed a music student whose ambition to become a jazz drummer is obstructed by the cruel mind games of his instructor; Sebastian is a jazz pianist, who bemoans the fading interest in his beloved music. But though a puritanical devotion to jazz connects these men, their stories couldn’t be more different.

Sebastian dreams of owning his own jazz club. In the meantime he’s broke, and has to resort to playing Christmas staples for a club owner who warns him that “I don’t wanna hear free jazz” (a neat cameo by Whiplash’s bad guy JK Simmons) or glam rock at parties. Mia works in a coffee shop on the Warner Brothers lot, surrounded by the locations for some of her favourite films, while enduring the thankless round of auditions that is the fate of so many wannabe actresses in the city. Each will encourage the other, without realising that success could drive them apart.

Before that danger arises, Chazell has seduced us with their courtship and romance, which he moves along with a brisk array of song and dance numbers. The freeway is followed almost immediately by an effervescent sequence in which Mia and her flatmates – in synched yellow, red, blue and green dresses – attend a hedonistic pool party. This segues into her first romantic notion of Sebastian, during which Gosling shows off the nifty piano skills he learned for the role.

Further highlights include their first song and dance together, a modestly choreographed and lovely two-hander in the hills above the city (Chazell lends LA a romantic aura normally reserved for New York) and a fantasy sequence in the city’s famous Griffith Observatory, with the accompanying homage to A Rebel Without A Cause one of a number of nods to Hollywood history.

The story is divided into seasons, though LA’s temperate climate makes even winter seem like summer, adding to the inherent romanticism of the piece. The screen is a rich wash of saturated colour, the songs and choreography often delicate and deft.

Gosling and Stone have co-starred twice before, notably in Crazy, Stupid, Love. Both are naturally gifted comedians, both atypically attractive, with a sublime chemistry. Neither is a particularly good singer, but this is the kind of musical in which perfection isn’t the point; what is, is the sense of recognisable people whose dramas and emotions happen to play out in song. And these two pull that off brilliantly.

Still just 31, Chazell has an enviable ability to create a totally immersive experience for his audiences. I remember a screening of Whiplash whose climatic energy had people on their feet. As they go gaga for La La Land, the response might be more blissfully serene.

La La Land will be in cinemas from January 12