Sizing up the 2016 competition: Emma Stone in "La La Land"

Well, it's been almost two weeks since I've seen La La Land.  In that time, the film set a new Golden Globes record with seven wins, earned $68 million in cinemas and Meryl is making international news for ripping on president-elect Donald Trump during her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award.  Bypassing the furor over Meryl's comments, we should probably talk about Emma Stone and the likelihood that she will not only be nominated for Actress in a Leading role at the Academy Awards, but also win.  She of course won the Globe last weekend for Actress in a Comedy or Musical, but what was perhaps equally telling was that her closest likely challenger, Natalie Portman (Jackie), lost out to Isabelle Huppert for Elle in the drama category.  I'd say this cements Stone as the comfortable front-runner for Oscar.

I enjoyed La La Land.  Typically up for most musicals, it took my a little while to get into the film, but once I did, it was highly entertaining.  Stone does a very nice job portraying Mia, a struggling actress in present-day Los Angeles. Mia is always busting her butt and pounding the pavement for what will hopefully result in her big break.  Of course a love interest throws a snag in her plans, as she falls head over heels for Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), an equally struggling musician.  The movie follows the pair through their successes and failures individually as well as a couple, conveying the ubiquitous 'personal versus professional' struggle that plagues job-seeking artists.


I have to admit I'm a bit of a snob purist when it comes to vocals in movie musicals.  Both Stone and Gosling do a fine job, but they're just not great singers.  It was a tad distracting for me, actually.  Nowhere near Russell Crowe in Les Mis or Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! distracting, but I found myself wishing they impressed me more.

The main attraction here is the film itself.  Maybe I'm just getting used to Meryl being by far the best thing in mediocre films (Florence aside) that it's difficult for me to appreciate a standout performance when the cinematography and screenplay somewhat outshine the actors.  The fact that La La Land is something both fresh and visually stunning is a great boost to the chances for Stone's to get further awards recognition.  I definitely prefer Streep's performance this year, but I expect Emma's film to carry her across the finish line.