Underplayed Gems

Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles (2021)

Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles poster
Directed by
Robert Rodriguez, Patrick Osborne
Genre
documentary film, concert film, animated documentary
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 05m
Rated
PG
Rating
7.8 of 10 from 127 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

Billie Eilish performs every song from her album Happier Than Ever at the Hollywood Bowl. The concert blends live action with animation and uses close camera work to create a personal feel.

intimatedreamlikevisually lushupbeatmelancholicwhimsicalenergeticartistic

What happens

Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles is a 2021 American concert film directed by Robert Rodriguez and Patrick Osborne, starring singer-songwriter Billie Eilish. It features performances of all 16 tracks from Eilish's second studio album, Happier Than Ever (2021), at the Hollywood Bowl amphitheater. She is accompanied by other musicians, including her brother Finneas O'Connell and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Inspired by films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Cool World (1992), A Love Letter to Los Angeles blends live action and animation. Besides directing, Osborne worked on the animation in collaboration with Nexus Studios, Zoic Studios, and Digital Frontier FX, mixing motion capture footage with rotoscoping techniques. Filming took place for one week in Los Angeles, mostly at the Hollywood Bowl, without a live audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crew aimed to avoid making the performances feel too similar, so they produced distinct color palettes and lighting effects for every song. They often recorded Eilish from close distances, wanting to create a sense of intimacy between her and the viewers. A Love Letter to Los Angeles was released exclusively to Disney+ on September 3, 2021. Critics praised its performances—which they felt were of similar or better quality compared to the songs' studio versions—as well as its animation, cinematography, and setting. It received nominations for Best Austin Film at the 2021 Austin Film Critics Association Awards, Best Music Film at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, and Best Longform Video at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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