The unabashed all-in nature of Babylon has an allure that’s surprising. While Damien Chazelle’s direction can be energetic, it also falls into repetition during the long run time, and some of the excesses are more than is needed, but the film never feels like it’s not making a point with every moment and cinematic scrap put on screen. For some, the wacky moments and gross punctations will be a joy, while for others, off-putting. In that, Babylon is art that divides and that’s nothing to sneer at. Despite being a box office disappointment, the film is impressive and will ferment a base of fans that will grow now that it’s available for home viewing. The running time will put some people off, and some word of mouth will make others dubious, but the film is quite something and certainly deserves to be given a chance.
The Production: 4/5
“And this boy, who breathed his first decades after you breathed your last, will look at your image and think he’s found a friend.”
It’s 1926 in Hollywood, the movie theaters are alive with an onslaught of silent films beguiling audiences. Behind the scenes, the still burgeoning movie business is awash with chaos. Big Hollywood parties are a cavalcade of cavalier sex and drugs, and the lives of three people are about to change; a major star will begin his descent, a young and eager actress will begin her ascent, and a young man with dreams of seeing movies made will begin his own fraught rise through the studio ranks. Their lives will intertwine, connecting and colliding with a spate of curious characters from the era with tragedy and triumph as companions along the way
Babylon opens with a spectacular, vulgar, debaucherous 30-minute sequence before we even see the title card. It begins curiously enough with the unusual effort to transport an elephant up steep Californian hills to a mansion to take part in a wild party planned for that night. The party is wild indeed and director Damien Chazelle packs the sequence with vibrant movement and colorful energy. It’s filled with nudity, drunken excess, drug use, and an unhinged sense of fun. It’s in this sequence I suspect the audience’s divided reaction to the film, the love it or loathe it sentiment, is etched in stone.
The story covers the tail end of the silent movie era and the quick and uncomfortable transition to talking pictures following three principal figures. The first is Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), whom we first meet at the height of his fame making silents. The second is Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), a hopeful actress who creates her own winning chance to break into the movie business and takes it by storm. The third is Manny Torres (Diego Calva), a young man working a rough support role for the rich and famous who longs to be able to work on a film set and, through a chance encounter with Jack Conrad, kicks off a rising career in the film studio business. It is Diego Calva’s Manny with whom we most relate and follow from the opening to the closing frames. He delivers an exceptional performance, grounded in the heightened mania of early Hollywood shenanigans and rife with emotion and delight at his experiences.
Margot Robbie’s performance as Nellie LaRoy, a fictional character modelled after Clara Bow, whom the film was to originally portray before Robbie was finally cast. She’s exceptional, bold as ever, and captivates the frame for every moment she’s on screen. Her character’s first gig in front of the camera is a standout moment in the film, and a standout moment for Robbie herself.
Brad Pitt delivers an assured performance as Jack Conrad. Conrad is a star and the descent of his fame, drowning in alcoholism and frequent public marriages and divorces, gives him space to reflect on some of his personal challenges. It makes for a brilliant, informed performance and certainly one of his most interesting and strong.
While Babylon largely paints an unpleasant view of Hollywood of the mid-1920s, with scenes of decadence without abandon and a shallow, compromised state of existence, it also paints the era filled with art and beauty and all the magic that film and make believe conjures for us, the audience, to this day. A fascinating dichotomy perhaps to punctuate the pain and reality behind that veil of cinematic make believe. The strength of Babylon, besides the boldness of being a 3-hour epic period film, is in how it shows the fragile and fleeting nature of fame, and the compromises broken systems seem to demand players make to rise or float in the dramatic pursuit of fame or fortune. It’s the pondering of filmmaking and fame along with the problematic predicaments the central characters experience that earns this film its stripes. Chazelle expresses his admiration of the subject matter with an embrace of filmmaking techniques. He rapturously explores all the calamity and chaos of filmmaking, and the decadence and debauchery of the era, marrying his strongest visual storytelling so far with beautiful cinematography (Linus Sandgren), a sparkling score (Justin Hurwitz), and a slew of marvelous performances from the many supporting players, particularly Jovan Adepo’s gifted musician, Jean Smart’s influential gossip writer, Flea’s uncompromising strongman, Lukas Haas’ troubled producer, Eric Roberts’ self-centered father to Nellie, and Li Jun Li’s captivating and mysterious figure.
Besides Babylon, 2022 saw two other notable films touching on the impact of cinema and movie theaters (Empire of Light, The Fablemans), but Babylon is far more sprawling and concerns itself with contemplating the façade of it all, not just the fakery of movie making, but of the fakery of schmoozing and wooing others to get ahead or stay ahead; of reverence to fame; of how unpleasant ‘movie people,’ as one character in the film puts it, tend to be. It also touches on bigotry and moral compromise in genuinely heartfelt ways. It’s long, risqué, and challenging, but it also has humor that sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t, but is never shy about what it’s going for. In that, one surely must admire Babylon even if one doesn’t like it.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
Babylon was shot on 35mm and Paramount’s 4K release comes with Dolby Vision grading and it’s gorgeous. Featuring superbly bright daylight sequences, many punctuated with bursts of green, night sequences have impossibly strong black levels with rich blues, golden yellow lights, and rich reds, especially Nellie’s red dress at her introduction. Contrasts are impressive, colors are deeply saturated, and grain is consistent, present throughout. The level of detail is stunning, skin tones on the warmer, tanned side (from the drenching California sun), the use of light impressive and informative, and smoke whisps catching that light beautifully captured.
Audio: 5/5
With a masterful Dolby Atmos track, Babylon is sonically exciting. Music drives the core of the impressive audio; it’s central to the story and so it’s central to the experience here. Crowd scenes are robust and active throughout the audio design, surrounds tactically used and the overheads involving with the brassy delight of Justin Hurwitz’s Jazz-infused score. The party scenes gush with effective sound design and involving use of the sound space while the war film being shot in the film’s first hour offers perhaps the most action-based use of the audio.
Finally, the way the music moves, particularly during the closing sequence – as the brass sounds sweep from right to left, front and into the surrounds, and across the overheads, is superb.
Special Features: 3/5
A decent collection of special features, notably the longest of the bunch, the 30-minute making of (A Panoramic Canvas Called Babylon), give a good sense of the film’s pieces from interviews with director Damien Chazelle, producers, the composer, and of course the film’s core ensemble players.
This version also features handsome steelbook packaging.
- A Panoramic Canvas Called Babylon— The cast and crew discuss the inspiration and motivation behind the original story and development of this epic, 15 years in the making.
- The Costumes of Babylon— Discover how costume design was fundamental to character development and the challenges that went into creating over 7,000 costumes for the film.
- Scoring Babylon— Take a peek into Justin Hurwitz’s musical process to understand the artistry behind composing an iconic score that further elevates the film.
- Deleted & Extended Scenes
Overall: 4/5
The unabashed all-in nature of Babylon has an allure that’s surprising. While Damien Chazelle’s direction can be energetic, it also falls into repetition during the long run time, and some of the excesses are more than is needed, but the film never feels like it’s not making a point with every moment and cinematic scrap put on screen. For some, the wacky moments and gross punctations will be a joy, while for others, off-putting. In that, Babylon is art that divides and that’s nothing to sneer at. Despite being a box office disappointment, the film is impressive and will ferment a base of fans that will grow now that it’s available for home viewing. The running time will put some people off, and some word of mouth will make others dubious, but the film is quite something and certainly deserves to be given a chance.
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MartinP.
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TravisR
Yeah, I'm a big horror movie fan so the Tobey Maguire segment worked great on that level for me. That being said, I don't blame anyone who didn't care for that segment because the movie makes a big turn at that point.
Mark Mayes
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KeithDA
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Could be final layer change
KeithDA
Supporting Actor
The subtitles also disappear too....
It's ironic that if this was a silent movie, you'd fill in the gaps yourself, but here I wonder what she's saying?!
Anyway, is this a disc problem or simply the way my Oppo 203 handles the layer change?
KeithDA
Supporting Actor
Someone on the AV forums website says the same thing happens on their Panasonic 9000 player - looking more like a disc fault?
This evening I thought I’d check the Blu Ray version on the second disc, only to find that this disc only holds the extras and no Blu of the film…!
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