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I just saw his latest film, First Man, and I want to voice my thoughts about Chazelle, his style, his films, where he will go from here, and so on.
If you don't know who he is...
He's the director behind, Whiplash, La La Land and First Man. He's also the youngest winner of the "best director" oscar, winning it at the age of 32 for La La Land.
His films and my thoughts:
I'm aware that he had an indie film in 2009 named "Guy and Madeline on a park bench", but I haven't seen it yet. Probably will one day, if just for completion's sake.
His second film, Whiplash, is my favourite movie of the 2010s. Going in, I thought it was out of my comfort zone, so you can chalk my fondness of it up to low expectations, but that doesn't mean it's not a great film. It's one of those films where you can really tell that the director cares about the subject matter (Chazelle used to be a jazz drummer himself), and it features probably the best anti-hero since Tyler Durden; Terrence Fletcher. The strong-looking, drill sergeant-voiced J.K. Simmons was the perfect choice for the actor. Let me show you what I mean:
His third film, La La Land, is his most well-known one, but I'd still argue Whiplash is better due to its stronger story, message, and actor choice. If we're talking about direction alone, La La Land would be his absolute best, but I feel like it's been let down by the fact that its lead is Emma Stone playing a character called "Mia", which has "unlikeable" written all over it. Though, the writing does manage to evoke pathos for her, as well as the actually pretty likeable Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). Another thing worth noting is that it's a 40's style musical that uses its music numbers sparingly, but effectively. You'll have to forgive me for using buzz words, but some of them are electrifying. Seeing as how it grossed almost half a billion, it may end up remembered as the definitive 2010s movie, like what Back to the Future is to the 80s, and I'd be glad if it did.
His latest film, First Man, a biopic about Neil Armstrong, which wasn't fantastic, but it was still good. Ryan Gosling's prefoance was good, and like his previous two films, it was still good at making you feel what the protagonist is feeling. Not much to say here.
What's his style?
One recurring theme I've noticed is having a stiff, obsessive nerd as a protagonist. Andrew Neiman, Sebastian, and Neil Armstrong are all like that. I doubt he'll keep doing this for the rest of his career, though.
His strong suit, like Tarantino's sharp dialogue and Hitchcock's sense of intrigue, is immersion. Watching Whiplash, I always felt the same respect for Fletcher as Andrew. Watching First Man, I was just as awestruck as Neil when he landed on the Moon. Look at this clip from La La Land and you'll see what I mean.
It's impossible not to be carried away.
Where will he go from here?
It goes without saying that he has a solid directing career in the bag. The question I'm trying to ask here is how respected of a director will he end up being? I know it's too early to know for sure, but I predict he'll end up in the same league as Christopher Nolan and the Coen brothers; just a great director with a solid legacy. I wouldn't put my money on him becoming an industry icon like Alfred Hitchcock, but I'm certain he'll garner more respect than the good-but-not-great directors like Tim Burton or Peter Jackson.
What do you think?
If you don't know who he is...
He's the director behind, Whiplash, La La Land and First Man. He's also the youngest winner of the "best director" oscar, winning it at the age of 32 for La La Land.
His films and my thoughts:
I'm aware that he had an indie film in 2009 named "Guy and Madeline on a park bench", but I haven't seen it yet. Probably will one day, if just for completion's sake.
His second film, Whiplash, is my favourite movie of the 2010s. Going in, I thought it was out of my comfort zone, so you can chalk my fondness of it up to low expectations, but that doesn't mean it's not a great film. It's one of those films where you can really tell that the director cares about the subject matter (Chazelle used to be a jazz drummer himself), and it features probably the best anti-hero since Tyler Durden; Terrence Fletcher. The strong-looking, drill sergeant-voiced J.K. Simmons was the perfect choice for the actor. Let me show you what I mean:
His third film, La La Land, is his most well-known one, but I'd still argue Whiplash is better due to its stronger story, message, and actor choice. If we're talking about direction alone, La La Land would be his absolute best, but I feel like it's been let down by the fact that its lead is Emma Stone playing a character called "Mia", which has "unlikeable" written all over it. Though, the writing does manage to evoke pathos for her, as well as the actually pretty likeable Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). Another thing worth noting is that it's a 40's style musical that uses its music numbers sparingly, but effectively. You'll have to forgive me for using buzz words, but some of them are electrifying. Seeing as how it grossed almost half a billion, it may end up remembered as the definitive 2010s movie, like what Back to the Future is to the 80s, and I'd be glad if it did.
His latest film, First Man, a biopic about Neil Armstrong, which wasn't fantastic, but it was still good. Ryan Gosling's prefoance was good, and like his previous two films, it was still good at making you feel what the protagonist is feeling. Not much to say here.
What's his style?
One recurring theme I've noticed is having a stiff, obsessive nerd as a protagonist. Andrew Neiman, Sebastian, and Neil Armstrong are all like that. I doubt he'll keep doing this for the rest of his career, though.
His strong suit, like Tarantino's sharp dialogue and Hitchcock's sense of intrigue, is immersion. Watching Whiplash, I always felt the same respect for Fletcher as Andrew. Watching First Man, I was just as awestruck as Neil when he landed on the Moon. Look at this clip from La La Land and you'll see what I mean.
It's impossible not to be carried away.
Where will he go from here?
It goes without saying that he has a solid directing career in the bag. The question I'm trying to ask here is how respected of a director will he end up being? I know it's too early to know for sure, but I predict he'll end up in the same league as Christopher Nolan and the Coen brothers; just a great director with a solid legacy. I wouldn't put my money on him becoming an industry icon like Alfred Hitchcock, but I'm certain he'll garner more respect than the good-but-not-great directors like Tim Burton or Peter Jackson.
What do you think?
