Review: Babylon

Decadence and depravity are two words that come to mind when I’m trying to describe the story of Babylon. Set in the 1920s, the film follows three main stories: Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), a famed silent film actor; Nellie Laroy (Margot Robbie), a woman looking to be a star; and Manny Torres (Diego Calva), a man who wishes to be apart of the beautiful chaos that is filmmaking. The three meet at a wild party filled with debauchery and maintain a friendship over the years as they live through the ups and downs of Hollywood as the film industry develops from silent to sound on the silver screen.

Let’s get one thing out of the way; it’s a pretty film. Every shot is lush and gorgeous. And to the surprise of no one, the music is spectacular. Damien Chazelle’s classic camera work mixed with the explosive jazz score from Justin Hurwitz is like no other. The camera becomes a character, and so does the music. But, once you dust off the dazzle of the filmmaking and music, at its core, Babylon is kind of a mess.

I’ll be honest; it took me a while to process the three-hour and eight-minute film. Most of the time, the story is jumbled and filled with unnecessary crudeness and vulgarity. I know this was meant to show the true, coke-infused side of Hollywood, but it just made everything seem like the 70s and not the late 20s. I believe this was, at its core, supposed to be a love letter to film. Unfortunately, that element was lost as “shock value” became the main plot. Storylines were muddled by raunchy scenes and multiple storylines that could have been avoided. In fact, if Chazelle had widdled down the mess, he could have shaved off many minutes from the long run-time. That being said, most of the side plots and characters were far more interesting than our main three. I could watch a whole film based on Li Jun Li’s character Lady Fay Zhu. Give me that story now!

The three main leads do their job well. Margot Robbie is a marvel on screen. You just can’t take your eyes off of her. Diego Calva played his role with the innocence needed. His childlike wonderment was refreshing on screen. Brad Pitt wasn’t bad he was just, unfortunately, forgettable. There were performances from side characters that were far more entertaining.

Babylon is surprisingly funny. Again, most of these memorable moments were given to side characters. The best scene in the film is the first time they are recording sound for a movie. P.J. Byrne stole the show and had everyone in my theater in stitches. Jean Smart also played a side character who you could not take your eyes off of. She commanded your attention on screen and had some of the best one-liners. Even if she wasn’t the focal point of a scene, your eyes were searching for her. When you found her, you were never disappointed because she was always doing something interesting in character in the background.

Babylon does have a strong ending, despite a lackluster montage that fell rather flat. Like most of Chazelle’s films, he wraps in a non-traditional way. Maybe the guy didn’t get the girl, or a character never accomplished their goal. He hits you with real-life scenarios instead of a standard happy ending.

In the end, Babylon is a very high-brow movie. This film was blatantly made to get awards, making it feel pretentious. The story and time period are lost in a sea of scenes trying to be artsy, and the more intriguing stories are sidelined. This was obviously made to peel the curtain back on a glamorized time in Hollywood to show people the wild side of everything, but most of the grotesque scenes are unnecessary. It was well-directed and had fantastic camera work. The score is infectious, and the acting is ok, but I have no desire to sit through this three-hour-long film again. (I will be downloading the soundtrack, though.)