2022 looks to be the year when filmmakers want to reintroduce audiences to cinemas. Filmmakers ranging from Steven Spielberg to Sam Mendes have created what can only be characterized as love poems for the silver screen. This type of inclination is reasonable; once a pandemic has turned our world upside down, it’s difficult not to seek that shared experience. At first look, Damien Chazelle’s Babylon appears to seek to demonstrate why films are amazing. But it quickly drowns in an excess of its own manufacture, and any qualities it has vanished.
Babylon is set in the 1920s when movies were moving from being entirely silent to having full-fledged sound. Manny Torres (Diego Calva) meets aspiring actress Nellie LaRoy there (Margot Robbie). Manny is struck by Nellie’s fiery energy right away, and the two have several interactions throughout their careers. Nellie’s stratospheric path to prominence is hampered by her vices, whilst Manny works as the personal assistant to megastar Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt).
It’s easy to see why Chazelle was drawn to make this film. His films have always had a larger-than-life energy, whether they are about love and jazz or about humanity’s journey to the skies.
But this time, his reach outstrips his grasp as he unleashes stunning scene after shocking scene on the crowd. Manny, for example, is attempting to transport an elephant to a party; halfway through, it defecates on the driver. For at least three minutes. The entire film is littered with images like this, whether it’s an orgy or a man scarfing down live rats, and it quickly becomes tiresome.
The film’s major flaw is that it crams what amounts to two features’ worth of material into a three-hour duration. “No excellent movie is too lengthy, and no poor movie is too short,” stated critic Robert Ebert. It’s a statement that kept running through my mind as I thought, “When is this movie going to end?” It also burns past at least three natural halting locations. First and first, filmmaking is about storytelling; you must determine what to keep and what to cut. Unfortunately, Chazelle appears to have lost sight of this.
Nellie and Manny’s storyline, in particular, could have easily carried the picture. Jack’s is a familiar story: a guy caught in the stormy grasp of change and swept up in it. Some may see it as a statement on how the present world of film has shifted to favor mega-blockbusters over indies and mid-budget entertainment. It’s what I call an out-of-tune song. Even Pitt, who has been a steady presence this year, appears to be on autopilot. To be honest, Brad Pitt on autopilot delivers an engaging performance.
In the end, it’s Robbie and Calva’s performances that make Babylon worth watching. From her first scene, in which she crashes a Jeep into a seemingly endless series of expensive sculptures, to Nellie’s first big moment in a Western film, in which she improvises a wild dance routine, Robbie is irresistibly fascinating. It’s difficult to look away from the screen while she’s on it.
Calva is the performer who grows the most and matches her scene for scene. When he initially arrives, he is wide-eyed and naive, vulnerable to Hollywood’s allure. However, as time passes, he buries his optimism behind slicked-back hair and crisp clothes. Calva’s costume selections and demeanor express volumes without his having to say a single word. And the two’s chemistry is so real that viewers may forget they’re seeing a movie and assume they’re watching two individuals fall in love.
Also read: Woman of the Dead: A trip into the metaphorical “Heart of Darkness”
The remainder of the cast likewise gives outstanding performances. Jean Smart, in particular, is hilarious as an old gossip writer who provides some of the film’s most incisive sequences. Tobey Maguire, who plays a shady mafia leader, is the genuine star. His pallid attitude and bug-eyed grin are a far cry from his typical pleasant image, and they serve as a reminder that he can produce dramatic performances when called upon. Similarly, I wish the film had focused more on jazz pianist Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo), especially because most of his encounters with other characters demonstrate that Hollywood’s promises are frequently only offered to select people.
Regarding the film’s technical aspects, cinematographer Linus Sandgren and editor Tom Cross create some undeniably beautiful visual moments. Palmer pours his heart and everything into a trumpet solo on the set of a film in one such instance. Sandgren sets the scene such that golden light bathes Adepo. Cross cuts in various angles of his fingers as he aggressively presses the trumpet keys to a magnificent crescendo. It’s one of the few pictures from the film that has stayed with me, and it demonstrates Chazelle’s love of jazz.
Babylon is too reliant on its own supply, with Margot Robbie and Diego Calva carrying an overlong, overcrowded drama that loses sight of its subject. I adore movies, and I love writing about them, and I even enjoy going to the movies and reveling in their enchantment. However, there is very little of that spark in this film.
Babylon will be released in theatres around the country on December 23, 2022.
