Comparative Analysis of ‘La La Land’ and ‘Casablanca’
Screen texts have the ability to elucidate meaning for audiences by utilizing a number of stylistic elements. Successful stories subliminally invite viewers to empathise, reflect and immerse themselves into the world and reality of the film. By comparing and contrasting Damien Chazelle’s La La Land and Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca, the audience will be able to identify common threads and themes as well as highlight the different approaches the directors took to accentuate the meaning of both the films. Through analysis of a combination of key textual elements, the films ‘La La Land’ (2016) and ‘Casablanca’ (1942), have cleverly explored the central meaning of conflict between desire and duty through production context, mise-en-scene and narrative approaches. In order to understand the decisions made about each film, the production context needs to be examined and how these factors impact the creation and distribution of both films.
Understanding films through contexts means knowing the conditions that surround the filmmaking and how societal or cultural attitudes during the time of filming influenced the content to help viewers understand the film. The film ‘La La Land’, released in August 2016, is the product of an auteur director, Damien Chazelle. Although his film credentials only include 3 features as a director, most notably for Whiplash (2014), Chazelle is already developing his own auteur signature. All his films have been strongly associated with music; two being musical genres and the third being a “tale of a young drummer pushed to the limits by a demanding teacher.” Chazelle was also in a very competitive jazz band in college and drew on the parallels of pressure he felt during those years.
Much like Chazelle, director of Casablanca, released in 1942, Michael Curtiz, decided to draw on the experiences that were evolving around him during the time of filming. Casablanca was being made just as the U.S. entered World War II in 1942, in which the film explores the main themes of power, war, and politics; and conversely, how they affected many relationships during this time. The American Film Institute’s 1998 poll of “100 Best American Films” listed Casablanca as number 2, coming behind Citizen Blane, which is a noteworthy result considering its medium budget of $1.039 million and being a black-and-white film.
Despite being reminiscent of Hollywood’s “golden age” of film, La La Land is very much a product of the 21st Century. It’s new digital filming technology used to stage a number of sequences on locations, such as the first dance number filmed on the freeway, instead of filming in the studio is perhaps why its relatively modest budget is estimated at $30 million . Before viewing both films, audiences would have already made pre-conceived notions based on the budget and producers of the movie; which include Warner Bros, Summit Entertainment, Marc Platt Productions and others. By using well-known actors, such as Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in La La Land and Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca would allow to attract a larger audience based on their previous work in acclaimed films. However, because La La Land had emerged with such new age technology and the actors were universally known from a social media following as well as in the film industry compared to Casablanca’s actors who did not share these social media advantages, allowed La La Land to surpass their budget, earning $446 million while Casablanca only managed to earn $3.7 million. Although the films and directors’ vision of the end product differs, the message of sacrificing love is at the forefront of both films, which Chazelle and Curtiz have achieved effectively through mise-en-scene and narrative approaches. Mise-en-scene was executed with diversity yet managed to maintain similar themes within both films to help audiences draw similarities and differences.
The use of mise-en-scene is presented diversely and effectively in both films by utilising a meticulous blend of techniques such as lighting, décor, props, costumes and actor blocking; all of which were pertinent to creating the theme of dreams before desire. Both Chazelle and Curtiz have distinguished the element of mise-en-scene so poetically and harmoniously that it creates a meta-space that reflects on the power of cinema as a unique medium. La La Land has emerged with “demiurgic objectives analogous to the great mise en scene filmmakers of the past”.
The opening musical sequence of La La Land, “Another Day of Sun,” not only sets the tone for the whole film, but it is also emblematic of the film’s portrayal of Los Angeles. Whilst sound is key to the scene, it is a rich tapestry of visual indicators to the film’s key themes. Dozens of cars are ensnared in traffic along the LA freeway – and from little snippets of ambient noises of car horns, radio channels and music explodes a full orchestral musical number. This apparent shift from diegetic to non-diegetic music also introduces the audience to Chazelle’s concept of making “an old-fashioned musical but grounding it in reality where things don’t always work out.” LA is often referred to as ‘the city of dreams’, and the lyrics aptly reflect the sacrifices people make for a chance to live out their dreams of fame and fortune. For example, in one line it states, “he was sweet and true, but still I did what I had to do.” Conversely, the enthusiasm and vivacity of the ensuing dance routine shows the intense ambition and optimism of the dreamers. However, at the end of the scene, they return to their frustrated reality of sitting in a traffic jam. The scene shows cars and costumes saturated with a bright colour palette; showing intermittent flashes of yellow, green, blue, purple and red amongst the sepia tones of the LA freeway– a pattern which would go on to continue throughout the duration of the film. The choices of colour tones on costumes and props allowed the audience to follow the character through the expressive camera movements.
Through Chazelles’ primary use of actor blocking, costuming, props, colour and sound he has subliminally portrayed the theme of choosing your dreams over your reality, and thus sacrificing what you know for a chance to be great. Similarly, does Casblancas’ Curtiz distinctively share a depth of meaning about sacrificing desire and love to do the chivalrous thing. Casablanca is considered to be the finest example of the film noir style centred around the love between Ilsa and Rick. The use of low-key lighting, actor blocking, and unconventional camera angles helped to define this style. In one scene where Rick is drowning himself with liquor and Ilsa enters the doorway, Curtiz darkened the shot of before the entryway and as she walks through, she is bathed in light and completely clothed in white, making her the focal point of the scene. The light follows as she approaches Rick, which now depicts the contrast of their emotions, where she is shot in the light and Rick in the dark. Curtiz’s use of actor blocking, lighting and colour shades have allowed the audience to explore Rick and Ilsa’s unspoken emotions. As the scene progresses and Ilsa begins to cry, shedding a single tear down her cheek, the catch light accentuates the tear which represents her innocence and broken heart. The lighting, costuming and actor blocking not only communited the time and place of the scene but were successful in creating the tensions of the two unresolved lovers, and the unspoken connection they share. Thus, it is clear that a shared depth of meaning centred around the idea of sacrificing what people desire to follow what is right is portrayed in both films through elements of mise-en-scene.
Together, the Hollywood films La La Land (2016) and Casablanca (1942), although different in genre, visual style and director intention, both inform and educate the audience on the hardships of sacrificing someone you love for following your desired path in life. Other conventions include a narrative built around the main characters and how that is told through plot, structure and character.
