Rattlesnakes, Cocaine and Margot Robbie- 'Babylon'

Happy New Year! Only about 21 days too late, but this is my first film review of 2023. Not that I haven’t watched any new films so far—I’ve watched quite a few in fact—but this is the first time I’ve felt I have something to write. Starting off the new year with the new drama-comedy ‘Babylon’ from ‘La La Land’s Damien Chazelle.

‘Babylon’ was a turbo-charged, extravagant, three-hour-long mess. Starring icons like Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie in a huge ensemble cast of actors, writers, producers, and musicians, all wrapped up in the booming movie days of the 1920s. The first act of this film included an elephant defecating, overdosing prostitutes, and a ‘Great Gatsby’-esque party combined with an ‘Eyes Wide Shut’-esque orgy, all chaotically and outrageously unfolding before the screen turns black, filling with the big red writing of ‘BABYLON’.

Within this elaborate and innovative period in cinema, the story is told through the eyes of young, fame-hungry actress Nellie LaRoy, played by Robbie, and Mexican dreamer film assistant Manny Torres, played extremely well by Diego Calva. We watch them rise—and ultimately fall—through the ranks of cinema, intertwined from their first meeting. Both characters played well off each other, with Nellie being wild but authentic, while Manny wore his heart on his sleeve throughout. Unlike Chazelle’s Oscar-winning hit ‘La La Land’, the love story between characters in this film did not convince me. With so much going on, it didn’t leave enough time to delve into the more complex feelings Manny had towards Nellie, although Diego Calva did an amazing job acting infatuated with Margot Robbie—a job I’m sure every teenage boy would also thrive at.

Where this film shone is in its ‘so much going on’ nature. It is truly a whirlwind, with some great and charming scenes. The most memorable ones include a hilarious and absurd drunken snake fight, a long and very stressful scene of repeated takes after the introduction of sound into films, and the first time both Manny and Nellie see what the movie sets are really like. With a film jam-packed with so much Hollywood, it had to rely heavily on the editing to pull it all off, which in my opinion it did extremely well. Cutting back and forth between Easter egg-type details and using dates and time was a perfect way to structure some of the evolution of time, or to create a rhythm that runs throughout the film. It looked stunning; I would love to see how much work and time it took to coordinate some of the ensemble scenes. Set, costume, and lighting design were off the chart. It sounded stunning too, with Chazelle’s work bestie Justin Hurwitz creating an amalgamation of the magical ‘La La Land’ and the foot-stomping jazz of ‘Whiplash’.

I had read a few reviews of the film after seeing it to try and see where my opinions lined up with the so-called professional critics out there, most of whom had a lot more to criticise regarding the film than I had initially considered. The film was splodged with the addition of discriminatory behaviour against the minority characters, including Sidney Palmer, the black trumpeter manipulated into blackface, Anna May Wong, the lesbian performer fetishised yet shunned when it was no longer deemed acceptable publicity, and Manny lying to the elite about his Mexican heritage. All of these additions were at least an attempt to provoke thought, yet were in no way explored enough to show any clear theme. The main theme of ‘Babylon’ was clear from the first introduction to the movie set: it is a love letter to cinema.

After 189 minutes of choreographed drama, one thing this film had to deliver on was the ending—it can make or ruin a good movie. I would happily go back to the cinema just to see those last five minutes. I loved it.

Evie 21 January 2023