La La Land : Help me get over this mistake

When Seb surprises Mia by visiting and making dinner, why would she be so mad at him for playing crappy music that she breaks up with him. I thought she loved him? Besides it takes money to open a Jazz club.

Yep I agree. I thought this was the one weak plot point of the film. That major fight came out of nowhere. It seemed contrived to me.

Agreed. One of the worst scripted scenes I've ever had to sit through.

I think it has more to do with following one's passion, and Sebastian would not be doing that. Granted he would be playing professionally, but not really doing what he wants.

Also I think the scene was about him going away for months or years at a time. She was upset about this as you can expect. Actors and musicians do have relationship problems due to travel and being away often. One reason I would never want to be a professional performer.

He was not playing the jazz he loved so much because his biggest passion was her. She didn't realize that. And I think he was right when he told her she didn't like him that much being successful because watching him broken made her feel better about herself.

might be just me but i didn't see this as the "break up" seemed like just a fight to me ! why would he rush out to her show 2 weeks later if they broke up ? i think the break up happened off screen

I think it had to do with what he said, jealousy. She sinking did not like the fact that he was succeeding. Maybe it wasn't exactly what he wanted to do, but the fact that he was doing something that was actually being successful and needed him to be goop for periods of time, while she still was struggling. Many many MANY people and relationships are like that. If this movie was trying to be realistic, I do not feel like it had anything to do with him not following his dream as others are saying.

She called him out on not following his passion (agree maybe not the best time) and he got angry because he knew it was true. The line about her liking him when he was down in order to feel better about herself was a low blow

I also don't think it was that she felt jealous but I think it was intentionally written the way it was so that Seb might think that she was indeed jealous. She was able to see that he was in a sense, selling out on his dream. She may have been unaware that he was doing what he thought she wanted him to do. I'm confusing myself now haha. I do think that when she walked out that she may have intended it as a break-up.


He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?

they don't actually break up until the bench at the observatory before she goes to France. They were definetly in a rough patch and he wasn't sure if she was coming back when the call comes for her but they hadn't broken up.

as far as the fight over the dinner. she was concerned he was selling out on his dream, he got defensive and they both said things they didn't mean.

That scene confused the hell out of me! It came completely out of left field! I'm used to the stereotypical boyfriend/girlfriend 'you're becoming a sell out' cliche fight ('the devil wears Prada', etc) but this was just on another level of ridiculous. As a screenwriter myself, I just chalk it up to Damien dropping the ball in that scene because it started as one thing and turned into something completely different! It was not a well written fight at all.

Yes like your boyfriend is here making an effort to see you and has to leave early and the last thing he needs is for you to call him out on not following his passion! I agree they fell in love cause they were both artsy fartsy dreamers, but he was doing something successful that wasn't that far away from his passion. You'd expect her character to be more open minded to the idea or at least pretending to like it even if deep down she had her concerns. I've never seen anyone get angry at someone because HEY A&*H*LE WHY AREN'T YOU FOLLOWING YOUR PASSION HOW RUDE OF YOU. lol. I guess maybe it was triggered by her not wanting him to be away that often but seriously.

I also felt like the way the scene ended and things played out later, the movie wanted us to see that she was right or something. Because he did snap out of him and actually opened up his own bar.

You have to keep in mind that time was passing. Mia was stressed out trying to put together her one-woman show and her bf wasn't around to support her because he was on the road touring. She missed him and was hurt to know that he'd continue touring because it isn't what they signed up for as a couple. The plan was for him to stay in LA and open a night club, so not only was he giving up on his dream, but she was now stuck in a relationship with a guy who will almost never be in the same city as her.


"My only enemy is time." - Charles Chaplin
http://paulopicks.blogspot.com/

plausible explanation

Because she's selfish and wants him to stay in LA. She doesn't like that he's touring, AND on top of it, that he's found success. She's jealous.

I took it to mean something different. Having been through a similar situation more than once in the past, it felt to me as though she was, for lack of a better term, picking a fight with him so it would be easier not to see him for a while. Believe meit doesn't workbut in the moment it's a defense mechanism against allowing yourself to feel the sadness that you really feel.

Because I related to the situation, for me it was one of the more genuine scenes of the film.

I think this scene makes perfect sense, and probably one of the best scenes in the movie for me.

Mia is mad at Seb for so many obvious reasons:

1) That he is always away touring, and she was doing something that is a big deal for her and can use support.

2) That Seb was supposed to follow his own dream like she is doing now. She is struggling now to be an actress and doing a one-woman show that is very stressful and risky. She feels like she is doing it hard, but Seb got the easy way out and became a sellout, instead of chasing dreams together. She is mad at him as much as she is mad at herself, for the urge inside herself to give up her dream. It's like her yelling at herself: Don't be weak, keep your eyes on what matters. It is a way of encouraging and pushing herself to keep going with the show, which must be really difficult and risky to do.

3) But at the same time, she must feel some kind of jealousy. Because Seb got success, it might not be what he truly wanted but he "made it" at least. She is jealous that Seb can give up and his dream and be successful, because that is what she is scared of for herself, that everything she is doing now is a mistake. Seb's band success brings this fear out of her.


This is not me guessing or justifying the scene. It is what I learnt from the character after watching this movie. And they are supported by other scenes in the movie.

Also, Seb is angry too for similar reasons:

1) He only started to do this gig because of her. She encourage him in the beginning, and also he was sacrificing his dream for HER, after hearing she telling her mom he is "nobody yet", so he wants to have some success to make her proud. So it makes him angry that she does not appreciate that.

2) He is angry at himself for giving up his dream and Mia is saying these things too painful for himself to face.

We must also remember, that despite how deep the relationship seemed

They were only together for 9 months at the most.
And it implied that he was probably touring for 3 or 4 of those months.


They had a deep connection, and changed each other's livesbut they weren't even in each other's lives for a year.

it was because he sold out. He wasn't true to what he preached.
Out of that argument the truth came out when he "bruised" her at the end of the conversation.

I actually liked this scene.

Others have pointed out what I also believe is happening. Mia is bothered. She had just left him a message, saying how she misses him. Mia thought the tour was temporary, because she really believed that he was going to start going after his dreams. She also thought she was going to see him frequently again when the tour was over.

In one moment over dinner, she learned that she was wrong. She discovered that they weren't as on target as she thought. Isn't that enough to greatly upset someone in a relationship? It was for her.

Also, that scene when he performs with the band spoke volumes to me. It showed the beginning of their separation and also Seb separating himself from his own dreams.

I also find it ironic that she does the very thing he did - but longer. She went off to Paris, while he becomes the one to stay behind. Unlike him though, it was to truly pursue her dreams.

I live in a music town, and the gig he landed was what most working musicians here would love a good paying, steady gig. He even got royalty points! It would be fine for a while, especially if he were saving to open his own place. You can't just "open" a venue without having skin in the game (money).

Was kinda silly.

I haven't read all the replies, so someone might have already said this. His plan was to open his own club. Very suddenly that changed and his plan was to stay in this band forever. To be on tour forever. It didn't sound like he had discussed that decision with her at all. It seemed like maybe she thought he was going to do the band thing, just long enough to save up enough money to start his own dream. A relationship with a man who was never going to be there, wasn't what she signed up for.

If you think about it she was a loser from the start. She was dating one dude then makes accepts a date with Seb only to then basically stand him up so she can go out with the original boyfriend All in all her character was written as a c(*t to begin with so having her blow up for no reason didn't shock me that that much.