How soon is too soon to brand a director as the next big thing? Is one brilliant movie enough? Two? What about a 70% track record of success? Just look at the hype we all created around Shyamalan, Peele, Blomkamp for their incredible debuts, but arguably have been trying to hit that hype ever since. Damien Chazelle is that director for me. After his modern masterpiece, Whiplash, he quickly introduced one of my cinematic heart songs in La La Land. After going 2 for 2, I knew that I’d be eagerly anticipating each of his following features. His third movie, First Man isn’t a bad movie by any means, but it hasn’t inspired me to rewatch it either. Now, he delves back into the Hollywood origins of the city of angels in a very big way with Babylon.
Babylon features an ensemble cast with familiar faces in Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, but also newcomers in Diego Calva and Jovan Adepo. The central character that ties everyone together is Manny Torres (Calva). He is a jack-of-all-trades fixer at extravagant and tawdry Hollywood parties, but yearns to work on movie sets and be part of the movie-making machine in the silent film era of the 1920s. He gets his wish as he aids an aging silent film star, Jack Conrad (Pitt). Meanwhile, there is a young actress, Nellie LaRoy (Robbie) that has a dream and the willpower to become famous quickly.
Babylon follows these central characters through the surprising debauchery and unpredictable antics of early Hollywood, through the harsh and transitory time when “Talkies” were introduced and several legacy actors could no longer compete.
Chazelle purposely titled this movie to represent what Babylon represents biblically and for the hidden insanity bubbling behind famous movie studios at the time. Biblically, Babylon represented a city and kingdom of great culture and magnificence, but whose luxury and sin would be its downfall. This film jumps right out of the gate to match that definition. Chazelle throws the audience right into a degenerate party that matches The Wolf of Wall Street in terms of shock value. It’s almost intentionally off-putting and hectic to make the audience gasp at what celebrities would do to unwind even 100 years ago.
Thankfully, it does calm down a bit after 20 minutes. The content of the movie is still very adult in nature, but Chazelle already hit the nail on the head, so he starts to focus on what celebrity does to the soul of its pursuers.
Robbie is a firework and her antics as the star-bound Nellie make for some of the movies most memorable scenes. She shows that she will achieve success at the cost of rewriting her entire identity. I loved the honesty of Pitt’s character. He represents what it means to be a working actor that takes roles as favors or to get the latest paycheck. He’s burned through several marriages and holds tight to the few friends he can find, but when his talent isn’t acknowledged anymore, he wonders what his legacy could be.
Each of the actors in the movie essentially represent narrative types that are even around now in Hollywood. That leads us to Diego Calva, who wants to put his stamp on what movies represent – escapism and unity through a shared experience on screen. His is the most defined character, as we see his arc develop gradually. But, as an audience, we beg that he’ll be able to make it out of the system with his soul and life intact.
I would have loved to see the storyboarding process for this movie, because there are several scenes that had me guffawing or shocked. Chazelle delivers some completely memorable slice of celebrity life moments here. However, it seems like these moments are cobbled together in a altogether sloppy experience. At over three hours, Babylon does not know when to say when. So many of its scenes thrive in excess, and the movie follows suit with an excessive length.
Chazelle reteams with Justin Hurwitz, who is creates the musical backdrop of his previous movies. While many themes are similar to those of La La Land, the jazz score is a perfect representation of the overwhelming lifestyle of the residents within LA.
I almost want a restrained version of this movie to exist, but that would come at the cost of the stark contrast of what celebrity meant and potentially currently means to those who throw their talents at the bigger picture. I will be rewatching this movie to see what themes I’m missing, but also to watch Tobey Maguire’s scenes specifically. Overall, it’s a misfire with great intentions, but it still keeps me interested in what Damien Chazelle makes next.
In the end, Babylon works on a very personal level. It shows that many of the cogs that go into making a single movie may be corrupt, brash, and honestly just husks that speak on cue. Hollywood has always been its own planet that doesn’t represent anyone in the real world. They have their own sets of lifestyle and distorted humanity. Yet, the final 20 minutes delivers this movie to something than any film buff can truly appreciate. The history of film and Hollywood itself isn’t relevant to how we, as the audience live our lives, but the great films that are produced have becomes part of our memories and allow us to unite every time we press “Play.” B-
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