Dancing In The Moonlight: Matt Donato’s 25 Best Movies Of 2016

2) La La Land

Magic. Beautiful, tap-dance-y, Hollywood musical magic. I don’t blame those who scoff at Damien Chazelle’s idealistic fantasy, because I believe we’ve largely forgotten how to dream. City streets are filled with head-down cynics with goals of “getting by,” because reality is full of bills, responsibility and pain – but wouldn’t it be nice to dream once again? This isn’t JUST a movie for dreamers, it’s powerful enough to spark ambition that’s largely been snuffed out by numbing work and a general will to “live for the weekend.”

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are a romantic tandem who flow in one swooning motion, dancing their way through life’s unforgiving chapters. Emotions are intertwined with larger-than-life musical numbers that stop traffic and float through rooms, while Chazelle is able to hide editing cuts behind apparent one-takes (not actually continuous shots). It’s the kind of film that brims with passion and will earn every single Academy nod it will inevitably get – cinematography, music, performances, anything. “Here’s to the fools who dream,” they say, and what a foolish, fabricated dream La La Land is, not without becoming the kind film we’re so often deprived of.

It’s funny, because after walking out, my mom remarked about the film’s “sad” ending – yet it’s most certainly not sad. It’s raw, honest and still completed by an acknowledged smile. A life without turmoil is a life unlived. If only we could all be so lucky.