LA LA LAND Surprise Winner at London Critics' Awards

According to Variety, this year's hit big screen musical LA LA LAND met with surprising results at the London Critics' Awards. Winner of five Golden Globe awards including Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture and Best Original Score, LA LA LAND has been a force to be reckoned with on the awards circuit.

Variety notes that the London Critics' Awards tend to be spread throughout the various film nominees, but this year was even more split than usual. Many awards went to widely lauded films MOONLIGHT, and MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, and while both Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling walked away with Golden Globes earlier this month, the London Critics chose Casey Affleck as Actor of the Year and bestowed double honors on consummate world star Isabelle Huppert who took home Actress of the Year and the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film.

LA LA LAND's surprising triumph came when its one trophy of the evening ended up being the Film of the Year Award. Variety's Guy Lodge says it was among the closest votes in London Critics' history.

Written and directed by Academy Award nominee Damien Chazelle, the film stars Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend, Rosemarie Dewitt, Finn Wittrock, Callie Hernandez, Sonoya Mizuno, Jessica Rothe, Tom Everett Scott and Josh Pence. La La Land was the recipient of the People's Choice Award at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival.

LA LA LAND tells the story of Mia [Emma Stone], an aspiring actress, and Sebastian [Ryan Gosling], a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern day Los Angeles, this original musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams.

Read Guy Lodge's full Variety article here.