Film Review: "Babylon"

 

Damien Chazelle’s latest film Babylon is more than a critique of early Hollywood history. The film is a scathing indictment of excess, wealth, and the fear of being forgotten in the world.

 Babylon follows multiple characters during the transition from silent films to sound films in the 1920s. Chazelle’s film attempts to criticize and admire the evolution of Hollywood. Such ambitious ideas can have frustrating results in the hands of the wrong filmmaker. They can be especially divisive once the film is released to mass audiences. 

Some consider these Hollywood-focused stories vanity projects, while others consider them critiques of the industry. To make those stories compelling you need a film that is willing to take risks. Babylon takes risks that will not be to every fan's liking.  The lawlessness of the period will be an immediate turn-off for some viewers.  Those who are willing to take the ride will reap the cinematic rewards.

Told over a 188-minute running time, this tale of ambition and excess kept me absolutely thrilled. Meticulous attention to the period detail transports audiences to this time period seamlessly. This transition is thanks to perfect casting amongst the leading roles. Our lifeline into this world is Manuel “Manny” Torres (Diego Calva). Wide-eyed and innocent, he is a film assistant and aspiring director. Calva has an instantaneous likeability making him a perfect conduit for audiences.  Using Manny as our central focus allows other performances to shine bright. 

Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt deliver two of the year’s most entertaining performances. Pitt stars as Silent movie star Jack Conrad, a man who loves his life at the top. A character like Conrad needs an actor who radiates charm and emits swagger. Pitt is more than up to the task and offers interesting layers of a character who could be one-dimensional in the wrong hands. Margot Robbie stars as Nellie Roy, a hopeful film star on the rise. Her performance is the broadest and simultaneously most surprising. Inspired by film stars Clara Bow and Joan Crawford, you never know what she will do or say next.

These performances are amplified by Justin Hurwitz’s lively film score. It is a rare score that gives the film pulsating energy. An argument can be made that the score distracts from the story. Thankfully the film offers moments of quiet contemplation and reflection, making these characters feel real and well-rounded. Certain characters do not have the same depth as others.  Actors like Jovan Adepo, Tobey Maguire, and Jean Smart are not given the same range as our main characters. Their stories have interesting individual moments but rarely pack an emotional punch.  The film's buoyant energy helps make brutal truths of the industry all the more palatable.

Films like Babylon remind me why I fell in love with movies in the first place. Stories like this lure in audiences with glitz and glamour. Once we are properly lulled in, the performances will keep your attention. There is respect for the industry, but criticism for what came before. Simultaneously, this 1920s lifestyle criticizes how corrupt the industry was and still is. Not all of these ambitious swings work, but they deliver something unlike anything else this year.  Babylon is without question the best film I have seen in 2022.