There are many reasons why La La Land has been met with unanimous acclaim. Here, I use 1037 words to try and echo why I completely agree and why this makes it into my ALL TIME FAVOURITES list! 

I'm so excited to write about this film. I first watched it at the London Film Festival over 2 months ago (!) and the excitement is still just as extreme as when I walked out of that cinema. That La La Land hype has been brewing ever since audiences first caught a glimpse of it, and rightly so. Heck, I even walked through those doors slightly skeptical and expecting a cheesy half-arsed musical but I couldn't have been more wrong. Since then, I've been treated to a surprise visit from Ryan Gosling himself, I've watched it again (thanks to the FDA) and am 1000% going to watch it for a 3rd, 4th and 5th time when it finally la-la-lands in UK cinemas in January. These are the easiest 5 stars I've given out in a while. I'm just as starry-eyed as they are.

Where to begin? The synopsis can be condensed into one sentence: A jazz pianist falls for an aspiring actress in Los Angeles. Enter Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as the mesmerising leads Seb and Mia, in a film that wows more than a musical, and has far more oomph than a romantic-comedy-slash-drama. And in some scenes, it's downright unapologetically bonkers. It's about following your dreams, and yes there may be musical numbers that may seem horrendous on paper, but give it a try because it's better than you could dream it (unless you are director Damien Chazelle, that is). As soon as boy meets girl, you get the warm fuzzy feeling of an old romantic movie. It's a simple plot, and arguably predictable in places, but it is encapsulated and portrayed in such an ambitious and dynamic manner that you'll want to give it a standing ovation. The story plays out like a fantastic musical number, with all the highs and lows you look for in a film.

A lot of this is down to Gosling and Stone, who are reunited on-screen again (following 2011's Crazy, Stupid, Love and 2013's Gangster Squad). It's clear that they have chemistry (it's the best it has ever been here), and the casting is perfect, but who would have thought singing and dancing would be in their lists of skills too? Supporting cast are really just supporting - even John Legend, and this is a film for the two leads who sing and dance their way through their love story. They shine just like the stars in their surreal planetarium dance routine (one to note), and as brightly as they do in real life Hollywood. As Stone was probably once a struggling actress too, you begin to wonder how much art is imitating reality, but it's reflected in such a powerful and wide-eyed relatable performance (Oscar-nom alarm bells #1). Then you have Gosling, whose smirks and quips are hella entertaining, and that's before he even begins playing the piano - something he learnt especially for La La Land (Oscar-nom alarm bells #2). These are both world-class entertainers with a 'best in class' performance for us all.

The actual characters are vulnerable and relatable and extremely well written. Sure, I'm not an actor or musician but it strikes chords in the least expected places and I'd expect it'll do the same for you. After all, everybody has a dream and this is a film for dreamers. With characters seemingly stuck in the past - in two time periods in fact - it's a clash of culture when you see mustang upon mustang...followed by an iPhone. Times and timing is everything, as you will soon discover.

One of the other 'wow-factor' elements is the way everything is portrayed - it's one big, fat, giant showcase of "wow". There are some astonishing pieces of imagination where every inch of the screen comes to life, plus some really intricate attention to detail. I'm talking production value and a show-stopping opening scene, stunning purple sunsets, cinematography (Oscar-nom alarm bells #3), freeze-frame moments that put all your Mannequin Challenges to shame, glorious light and shade, and some fantastic set design. Yet sometimes it's the intimate performances that can have the most impact, thanks to Stone and Gosling conveying the pages and pages of script in a single facial expression. They're the only people in the room, and the cinematic version of the stage spotlight works so well.

And of course, we have to talk about the music. With six original songs, all worthy of Broadway and West End recognition, they deserve to be talked about. The songs are powerful and catchy (I can probably sing most of them back without prompting), and poetic, adding that extra layer of drama whilst somehow managing not to be cheesy. Musical motifs are used as a strong mechanic, and the power of silence is goosebump-inducing. There's this one line that goes "here's to the ones who dream", and a combination of everything plus Emma Stone's soft but emotional voice, can make a grown man cry. Probably. As someone with a musical background myself, playing piano for nearly two decades, I also have to applaud Gosling 'cos he makes me and my piano pieces look really bad.

I did say this film is a basic boy-meets-girl scenario, but it's the diving into dreams theme that was my immediate talking point as I walked down the streets of Leicester Square, sobbing away and analysing every aspect of my life so far. How's that for a post-cinema response? La La Land flickers from dream to reality to dream until you're dizzy just deciding which one is which. It's about pipeline dreams and growing up, the sacrifices, trying and failing, the foolish dreams, the hearts that ache and the mess we make...

I could add a whole bunch of Oscar nomination alarm bells as I try to wrap up my thoughts on a magical 2 hours and 8 minute masterpiece. Old Hollywood meets a modern age. Two actors totally steal the show - and all the other shows around. It's a film with more la-la-layers than a la-la-lasagne, ready to tell a story in an unforgettable way. I'm ready for this to la-la-land a whole load of awards next year and for the whole world to be able to watch it and talk about it with me. But for now, I just cannot wait to watch it again.


La La Land is in US cinemas from 9th and 16th December. Other audiences have to wait a little longer, awww.