Every year, one major Oscar contender becomes the punching bag for critical and/or Film Twitter backlash, and in 2016 that dubious honor fell to “La La Land.” For whatever reason, a segment of cinephiles went from swooning over the musical to loathing it, but one person who didn’t fall under the sway of awards season moodiness was Christopher Nolan. In fact, while you were bickering online, he was at the cinema.
Chatting with EW, Nolan revealed that being a father and getting older means he’s not one to see a movie in a theater more than once, but he made the exception of Damien Chazelle‘s Best Picture nominee.
“The one thing that I did notice changing from when I was a kid is, it’s very rare as an older person — I’m almost 47 now — that I’ll go back to see a film because I enjoyed it in a theater. [Though] I did with ‘La La Land;’ I went back to see that a couple of times. That basic joy of the possibility of a new movie and being there on opening night with a crowded audience — I don’t think that ever changes. That’s just a magical experience,” he said.
“Why did I go back? I think I almost went back to see if it was as good as I had thought, and it was, if that makes sense,” Nolan added.
So there you go: “La La Land” is Christopher Nolan approved. It’s easy to see why he’d be impressed given the technical mastery on display, though maybe just like with comedies, Nolan is a secret musicals fan.
The director’s new film, “Dunkirk,” opens this weekend.