The Alfred Hitchcock Easter Egg You May Not Have Noticed In La La Land
Lionsgate
A musical with singing and dancing and bright costumes isn’t necessarily the first place you would expect to find an Alfred Hitchcock Easter egg, but Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” has a nice hidden treat for those looking for it. On the surface, it may not have much in common with Hitchcock’s thrillers. However, when you consider the mood of wistful regret and longing that permeates it, it’s not hard to see why Chazelle might use a scene in it to homage “Vertigo,” the dark and devastating Hitchcock film that dethroned “Citizen Kane” as the greatest movie of all time in a once-a-decade poll that last happened in 2012.
Always Green, Ever Singing
Paramount Pictures
Hitchcock’s use of color in “Vertigo” was quite deliberate, with green symbolizing Madeleine and the “always green, ever living” nature of the trees in the redwood forest. Her hold — or, rather, that of her blonde alter ago, Judy — over the memory of the protagonist, Scottie (James Stewart), is as strong as the one Mia and Sebastian have on each other in “La La Land.” Chazelle went one step further and even dressed Mia in purple as a callback to Madeleine.
There’s a surreal, dreamlike quality to “Vertigo,” as Hitchcock blurs the line between fantasy and reality in Scottie’s mind. A dream sequence also overtakes reality at the end of “La La Land,” so “Vertigo” was a natural touchstone for this film. Knowing the homage was intentional helps the viewer appreciate the effect that Chazelle was going for as he sought to capture the spirit of old Hollywood in his modern musical.
In retrospect, the gaffe feels like an accidental tribute to Hitchcock. After all, Hitchcock was the master of suspense, and his films are an essential part of movie history. For its part, “La La Land” was already rife with references to other classic musicals, and it’s now a memorable part of Oscars history thanks to the suspense created by the massive flub on Hollywood’s biggest night.
