I was too excited and hyped for this movie to be released,
This movie was on my December watchlist.
This movie starrs Bras Pitt , Margot Robbie, Olivia Wilde, Lukas Haas, Kaia Gerber (“American Horror Story”), just to name a few.
This movie was directed by Damien Chazelle (“La LA LAnd”).
This movie was released on December 23rd 2022. It was rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence, drug use and language.
This movie is a Comedy/Drama/History.
This movie won two Golden Globes Awards at the 80th ceremony on Tuesday, January 10th 2023.
Onto the premise: An original epic set in 1920s Los Angeles led by Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Diego Calva, with an ensemble cast including Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li and Jean Smart. A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.
After an “interesting” opening scene about our main character Manny trying to get an elephant up to a party in Bel-Air, Babylon floors the gas pedal and barely comes up for air for the rest of the run time. I wanted to credit Damien Chazelle and his team for providing an unique experience in regards to pacing, setting and tone.
The expression “fever dream” is overused but Babylon is captured in such a chaotic and constantly shifting way that kept me intrigued and entertained and on my toes,
The movie looks fantastic and even if you don’t have an interest in this period of cinema, I don’t doubt that Babylon will still pull you in.
Its very hypnotizing. The costuming and sets are dynamic and show how disorganized and tumultuous early Hollywood was. I was hooked from the beginning and for all the movie’s flaws, its presentation is vibrant and fast-moving to keep you entertained.
While Babylon is distinctive with its look and pacing, when it comes to the characters, things are a little more familiar. The lessons the movie wants to teach us about Hollywood chewing up and spitting out talent are pretty routine.
I think Babylon is effective at getting those across but I was a little let down that the movie starts so bombastically and then quietly tip toes into conventionality by the end.
Damien Chazelle has enough of a name now that he could probably get any actor/actress he wanted in his cast.
He still attracted some big and interesting names for Babylon. I think every member of the main cast did a fantastic job and it’s a credit to them and Chazelle for getting the most out of his performers.
Brad Pitt’s the biggest name and I really enjoyed the work he put in as Jack Conrad.
I’ve always liked Margot Robbie and she’s on point here as Nellie. She throws herself into it completely, there’s a surprising amount of physicality and nuance in Nellie’s whirlwind behaviour. Much like Pitt, she’s really funny when she is given the opportunity to be. Despite the pretty telegraphed arc for her character, you understand why Manny can’t resist Nellie even when it’s crystal clear she’s bad news wrapped in pretty packaging.
I hope that Pitt and Robbie both get awards consideration for their work here.
The oddest casting is Tobey Maguire as threatening mobster James McKay but Maguire’s surprisingly good at being a creepy underworld figure.
Lets go to Tbe cons of this movie, , Babylon is a movie that indulges in the exact same stuff as other period movies.
As a project, Babylon’s determined to show all excess, like having an all-excess pass, as the audience, of the era in all its “glory.” I appreciated some of this but there are moments where the movie gets pretty gross (there’s an early scene involving a elephant that is going to shock people) and while I get what Chazelle and his team are trying to show, was it really necessary? I’d argue not.
Babylon’s lengthy run time is also going to drive some people away but it also has an affect on how the story twists and turns.
Characters that started out with more depth gradually turn more generic (Nellie specifically comes to mind) and you could have easily trimmed some of the fat off this movie.
The total length of Babylon feels a little self-indulgent and while the previously mentioned fast-pace keeps you guessing, it slows down some of the ending’s impact, in my opinion.
I got what the movie was trying to say with its wrap-up, dont get me wrong.
Just like the lavish and insane partying that Babylon presents, you have to choose to take the hit of whatever your poison of choice is and dive in headfirst or not to indulge and slip out the back. Babylon is going to be an incredibly polarizing experience and while I enjoyed large parts of this movie, there were also many scenes that fell flat for me, there are moments where Babylon has some real cinematic magic.
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