Before La La Land and Moonlight had their movie trivia fates married, before Damien Chazelle plumbed the seedier depths of Old Hollywood in Babylon, and before Ryan Gosling unleashed his song-and-dance Kenergy in Barbie and Emma Stone unfurled her freak flag with repeat collaborator Yorgos Lanthimos, this throwback musical broke like sunshine through storm clouds – sweet, primary-colored relief in a darkly cynical era. Released in 2016, but with its heart firmly fixed on Golden Age musicals, its story of a struggling actress and jazz musician falling in love while trying to make it big in L.A. could double bill with a Minnelli or Kelly picture and not skip a beat. – Kimberley Jones
