BABYLON REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS^

In 2014, Damien Chazelle impressed critics with his riveting thriller, Whiplash, which starred Miles Teller as a talented young drummer and J. K. Simmons as his ruthless instructor. At the 87th Academy Awards, Whiplash received five Oscar nominations and won three including Best Supporting Actor for Simmons. Following the success of Whiplash, expectations were high for Chazelle’s follow up film, La La Land, which was released two years later and starred Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as two ambitious individuals who fall in love. The film was incredibly successful, including with critics, at the box office and at the 89th Academy Awards where it received a total of fourteen nominations, winning six including Best Actress for Stone and Best Director for Chazelle. La La Land also briefly was awarded the Best Picture Oscar before it was revealed that Moonlight was the correct winner. Over six years after its release, La La Land still stands out as Chazelle’s most successful film. In 2018, the filmmaker reunited with Gosling in First Man, which saw the actor portraying astronaut Neil Armstrong. Unfortunately, it failed to match the success of La La Land and was a disappointment at the box office and, at the 91st Academy Awards, it was nominated for four Oscars and won for Best Visual Effects. Four years later, Babylon, has been released, however, it’s Chazelle’s most polarising film yet. There are those who thought it was a visual spectacle, however, others were less than impressed with what Chazelle had created. 

Babylon chronicles the rise and fall of multiple characters, including Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), Manuel Torres (Diego Calva) and Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), during Hollywood's transition from silent to sound films in the late 1920s.

The premise is simple, however, Babylon is far from it as it’s epic three hour runtime captures the highs and lows of Hollywood. Although there is a lot to like about the film including Robbie’s shining performance, the production design and Justin Hurwitz’s lively and catchy score, it’s not without its flaws including an exhausting runtime of 189 minutes and a bizarre ending that consists of various clips from famous films that have been released in the last hundred years. Since watching Babylon, I’m still indecisive about how I feel about it overall. While I don’t think it’s Chazelle’s best film (for me, it’s La La Land which is still one of my favourite films of all time), Babylon benefits from his unique and visionary filmmaking. It’s far from a boring watch, especially the epic party sequence that takes place at the beginning and introduces the main characters, including Nellie LaRoy who wants to be a star, Manuel who becomes smitten with the attractive young woman and Jack Conrad, a benevolent but troubled, oft-married film star. Those who have enjoyed Chazelle’s previous films, including Whiplash and La La Land, will most likely enjoy what he’s created with Babylon, however, others will probably find the three hour runtime tough to sit through. 

Babylon is at its best when it’s focusing on the characters trying to make it in Hollywood as it makes the transition from silent films to talkies. While films are a lot easier to make now, back in the late 1920s and early 1930s, they were difficult to make. An early scene sees Nellie impressing a film crew with her acting skills, however, a later sequence on a studio set reveals how much more challenging it is for Nellie making a film with sound as she has to remember lengthy lines of dialogue from a script. There’s also various technical issues that affect her performance with the director getting increasingly stressed the longer the scene takes. It’s during these sequences where I found Babylon to be at its most interesting as it provides audiences with an insight into how films were made in the early twentieth century.

The casting is the standout aspect of Babylon with the most memorable performance being delivered by Robbie. Although Nellie may seem sweet on the outside, she’s a flawed individual who is addicted to drugs and gambling. She simply goes to Hollywood wanting to become a star, however, the fame goes to her head and she struggles to cope with the increasing pressures of being perfect and trying to fit in. This leads to Nellie’s behaviour becoming more out of control. Robbie shines as Nellie and captures her character’s lively personality. Pitt is perfectly cast as ageing Hollywood star, Jack Conrad, who struggles to adjust to talkies with audiences laughing at his voice. Pitt is charming and charismatic in the role. Diego Calva leaves a lasting impression as Manuel “Manny” Torres who finds success working behind the scenes in Hollywood after meeting Jack at the party. While Nellie and Jack are both impacted negatively by the change to sound films, Manny maintains a successful career throughout. Much has been said about Tobey Maguire’s random appearance late in the film which isn’t surprising as he delivers his most strange performance yet during one of the film’s most bizarre sequences.

At the 95th Academy Awards, Babylon has received three Oscar nominations for Best Original Score, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design. Prior to its release, I would have expected Babylon to have been nominated for more, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Robbie and Best Director for Chazelle. However, having now seen it, I can understand why Babylon was overlooked as it’s divided critics and audiences since its release last year.

I don’t think that Babylon is a bad film and I do think that it’s worth watching at the cinema, however, it does represent Damien Chazelle’s most flawed film yet.

7/10