Fans have just days to watch ‘perfect' rom-com that swept board at Oscars
A rom-com musical that earned its main star a Best Actress Oscar is available on Netflix - but not for much longer.
A romantic musical that dazzled critics, stormed the awards season and left audiences swooning is about to vanish from BBC iPlayer.
La La Land (2016), the film that reignited the movie musical for a new generation, will leave the platform on June 9. Damien Chazelle's film is a full-hearted tribute to old Hollywood, youthful ambition, and the romanticising of dreams that don't come true.
Starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, the film follows aspiring actress Mia and jazz pianist Sebastian as they navigate the highs and heartbreaks of chasing stardom in Los Angeles.
Their romance, full of vintage flourishes and spontaneous song, plays out against the backdrop of a city where every barista is auditioning, and every traffic jam could become a dance number.
The opening sequence - a musical number set on a gridlocked LA freeway - became an instant classic and set the tone for a film that blends fantasy and realism.
Chazelle, who had just come off Whiplash, directed with a master's eye for style and rhythm. But La La Land's emotional power comes largely from its two leads.
Gosling oozes cool as the jazz purist with a dream of owning his own club, while Stone brings warmth and fragility to Mia, a woman always on the cusp of both failure and greatness.
At the Oscars, La La Land famously won six awards - including Best Director and Best Actress for Stone - and briefly claimed Best Picture before the now-infamous envelope mix-up, which ended up seeing Moonlight take the biggest prize.
That viral moment aside, the film's impact was undeniable: a critical and commercial triumph, and the highest-grossing original live-action musical of all time at the time of release.
On Rotten Tomatoes, where it holds a sparkling 91% score, viewers still sing its praises. One reviewer said: 'La la Land truly depicts the atmosphere that Hollywood brings to the world, everyone with their ambitions trying to bring them to life, but at what cost".
Another added: 'From the way it was written and portrayed by the actors to the way it was received, it's all amazing. I really enjoyed watching this movie because of its colours and shots - you can really see that somebody put effort and heart into this."
A third wrote simply: 'Masterpiece. My favourite musical of all time. My favourite movie of all time."
The soundtrack - with songs like 'City of Stars' and 'Audition (The Fools Who Dream)' - became a sensation in its own right. Justin Hurwitz's original score, paired with lyrics by Pasek and Paul, brought a new wave of jazz-infused ballads into the public mind, and helped secure the film's legacy.
If you've somehow never seen it, or just want to revisit Mia and Sebastian's story under the golden Los Angeles sky, the clock is ticking: La La Land is available to stream on BBC iPlayer, but only until June 9.
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