Photo Credit: Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone star in a scene from the movie La La Land. Alan Charlton calls it a “wonderful film” with “inventive choreography backed up by some solid character development and fine acting.”
If there is any consolation for the woes of winter, it lies in the fact that this is when the movie industry parades the best films of the past year.
In anticipation of awards season, particularly the Oscars, all those films likely to be in contention in categories such as Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, etc., get wide release and much publicity. This year is no exception.
Already recognized with no fewer than seven Golden Globe awards is La La Land, Damien Chazelle’s latest offering and clearly a strong contender. Well known for Whiplash, Chazelle clearly intends that his new film be seen as homage to the musicals of the past, especially those of Gene Kelly.
Great as many of those are, they are largely unknown to younger generations. For them and for those who do remember those great MGM classics, La La Land presents an opportunity to lose oneself in a world where people break out in song in the most mundane of situations and then engage in complex choreographic inventions. It’s a charming fantasy and can be utterly beguiling, as here it is.
However, Chazelle is a man of the times, and he recognizes that today’s audiences may well demand more. No longer is it enough to follow the “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl” formula. Thus, while from the opening moments the fantasy is presented, beneath it all is a more realistic undertone, a warning that in following one’s heart, one might be risking losses.
This is not to say that the film is a downer. Indeed, its many great songs and its inventive choreography, backed up by some solid character development and fine acting, ensure that Chazelle’s vision is brought to enchanting life. In large measure, this has been made possible by Linus Sandgren’s cinematography. Not since the brilliant Oscar-winning Chicago has the camera so enticingly invited the audience to join in the dance, participate in the romance, and be swept away into a world of enchantment.
La La Land is indeed a wonderful film. Is it the best of 2016? For my money, that title goes to Manchester by the Sea, already reviewed in this column.
Although these two films aren’t the only candidates, clearly they are among the front-runners.
Yet there’s another film that, while unlikely to win in the Best Film category, offers serious contention against such actors as Emma Stone for La La Land and Casey Affleck for Manchester BY The Sea.
Fences is a screen adaptation by Angus Wilson of his widely praised stage play. As such, it fails to escape from its origins in that it often comes across as a filmed play, rather than a fully realized movie.
However, its theatricality in no way diminishes the power of the script as it explores the life of a black family, headed by Troy Maxson. Maxson is a man who, tormented by his own past, is determined to build fences around himself and his family to protect them from the evils and temptations he sees surrounding them.
He believes that as long as one is true to one’s obligations, remaining faithful to one’s duty, one’s possibilities will be fulfilled. He fails to recognize that in building fences to prevent others from entering, a person is also prevented from getting out.
Wilson’s play is superbly written but depends on its performers to give it authenticity. Here is where the film’s strength lies, the cast turning in flawless performances.
Denzell Washington as Troy is superb – commanding, yet vulnerable; strong, yet fragile. Equally powerful is Viola Davis as his wife; her ability to convey a woman torn between love of her husband and realization of his faults is truly affecting. Jovan Adepo as their son and Stephen Henderson as Troy’s long-time friend give superb support. The result is an emotional and thought-provoking experience, one which will remain long after leaving the theatre.
Fences may not be the greatest film of the year, but in light of last year’s criticism, when the Oscars were seen as ignoring contributions of people of colour to the film industry, it will be difficult for the Academy to ignore the cast of Fences when it comes to the acting awards.
In any case, viewers can see for themselves the achievement of those who made Fences the powerful film that it is.
In these winter months we need to take advantage of all these award-contenders, because soon will follow the cinematic flood of “epics,” whose only recommendation is a series of special effects, and “comedies” filled with crass humour and crude jokes.
If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
