Babylon spans the pivotal era of American filmmaking in Hollywood from 1926-1952 as a host of changes were taking place both behind the camera, in the boardrooms of movie studios, and throughout American culture at large. We follow these developments through the stories of three different Tinseltown players as the embark upon making their movie dreams come true, aspiring studio player Manny Torres (Diego Calva), aspiring actress Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) and silent film star Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt) who navigate the wild landscape of pre-code, silent film era Hollywood just before the advent of the “talkie” and the rise of morality censors.
The era in which the film takes place and depicts was one that was bombastic and ambitious as it sought to spread a new form of entertainment through a fairly new medium. This fact lends itself well to director Damien Chazelle’s technical and visual skill and bombast as from the onset with one of the most insane opening scenes you’ve seen in a film in a long time, Babylon is constructed in a frenetic and crazy way that mirrors the culture it brings to the screen. Chazelle’s now trademark elaborate musical numbers are front and center in the beginning of the film, complete with memorable choreography and costume design that is both admirable in its luxuriousness and shocking in its debauchery, a perfect encapsulation of the what the film seeks to present to the audience. The film’s production design is lavish and authentic to the time period starting from the opening credits which feature the old Paramount logo and a 4:3 aspect ratio on the opening shot, transporting you directly into old Hollywoodland.
While Babylon nails the glitz and glamour of early Hollywood, it also has to highlight the downside of the fame monster as thematically it touches on a bit of everything from class differences to excess to racism to homophobia to addiction. Manny, Nellie, and Jack are each trying to make their mark working in the film industry and are willing to do whatever it takes to make it, even as the cost of doing so adds up. For Nellie, it costs her the purest relationship she may have ever known due to the changing mores of the time forcing its end while Jack must deal with his inability to keep a relationship for long and the passage of time and rise of sound making his skills as a silent actor obsolete. As a critique of Hollywood culture, covering all of these topics makes sense as each finds its way into Tinseltown, but trying to substantively cover each even with a three-hour plus runtime can contribute to many viewers feeling as if the film is overstuffed and thin narratively in critical aspects. Splitting the film’s perspective between three characters does make its story feel a bit like a series of vignettes to start before Babylon begins to settle within itself.
It’s three hour plus runtime begins to make the film feel more unfocused than it actually is due to the belaboring of the point that could have been made more succinctly through a tighter edit. This is a tragedy because there is a very good movie within Babylon about the costs of fame and the restrictive and suffocating effects of censorship and enforced morality not just upon art but on human beings and their happiness. Chazelle and director of photography Linus Sandgren imbue the film with some fantastic tracking shots and cinematography to match its high production value, but if the story and the film’s pacing feel glacial, no amount of appealing visuals can overcome substance that fails to connect. Babylon’s actors also work to overcome its unevenness narratively with Robbie and Pitt offering what may be career best performances, which is saying a lot considering both of their formidable resumes. Calva and Li Jun Lee who is a revelation as Lady Fay Zhu round out a stellar cast that pull in viewers even if the film itself struggles to at times. Babylon puts Damien Chazelle’s talents as a director on full display with its scale and epic visuals and the performances from the actors are superb, but the film’s epic runtime makes it feels so unfocused and overlong that it undercuts its positives entirely. It’s a shame because this could have been a great film, but its ambition ruins the party.
Image: Paramount Pictures
