Babylon – An Extravagant Mess (Early Review)

Despite only having three studio films under his name before the release of Babylon, Damien Chazelle has already established himself as one of the defining filmmakers of the 21st century and someone that many up-and-coming filmmakers and screenwriters aspire to be. Chazelle set the bar so unbelievably high right out of the gate with Whiplash and La La Land, that expectations for each new project are automatically going to be astronomical and difficult to live up to. First Man was undeniably a well-crafted achievement of filmmaking, but it was also a departure from his signature style that many fans failed to gravitate towards in the same way as his previous work. Considering the fact that Chazelle is once again exploring Hollywood, the arts, and crafting an ode for dreamers, many expected this film to be a return to form and another home run in his already brilliant body of work.

Babylon shares thematic similarities to Whiplash and La La Land, especially in its exploration of the pursuit of the American dream and the sacrifices many have to make to ultimately achieve their goals. However, that’s where the comparisons end, both in quality and stylistically. The film is a lurid and eccentric portrait of Hollywood during the roaring 1920s, from the extravagant parties to the corruption that plagued the era, while also touching upon the sense of creative freedom that existed before “talkies” were invented and the studio system took over. Babylon is narratively lax, as it is divided into segments focused on characters as they make their way through the industry. First, there’s Manny Torres (Calva), a character acting as an audience surrogate. Eager to make a name for himself, Manny takes any job he can that will get him open any opportunity to grow within the industry. While working a low-end job a Beverly Hills party, he meets aspiring actress Nellie LaRoy (Robbie) who believes she was born a star and will stop at nothing to become a famous actress. Meanwhile, there’s Jack Conrad (Pitt), a silent film star at the top of his game. The film explores their journeys as their paths intertwine and they experience the highs of fame and the lows of failure, all leading to a puzzling finale that is sure to divide audiences.

Babylon is a frantic, ambitious and uneven ride that works in doses but that being said, it doesn’t have much to latch onto. On one hand, it is an impressive and creative undertaking featuring some of Chazelle’s most striking visuals. Linus Sandgren provides detailed and colorful cinematography that revels in the chaos the film is portraying. Justin Hurwitz continues to prove that he is one of the greatest composers alive, delivering perhaps his most sonically impressive score to date. It is extremely diverse, ranging from jazz to house music, to piano balladry. It’s gargantuan in scope and gives the film added emotion where it’s lacking it. Chazelle paints a vivid portrait of 1920s Hollywood – a Gatsby-esque exploration of the pandemonium that defined the era. The film thoroughly explores the transition from silent pictures to the rise of the studio system, and how that completely killed some careers and propelled others. There’s a lot of interesting ideas that he plays around with regarding the fluidity of cinema and how fame is limited, but legacy is everlasting. However, the film is perhaps too manic for its own good. Chazelle has always been a flashy filmmaker, but there’s real nuance and emotional depth behind the extravagant presentation of his films that is mostly absent here.

The film is very scatterbrained, making it difficult to connect to the characters or the themes being presented. It’s also far too excessive for its own good. It makes sense to portray the chaotic nature of Hollywood during the era, but several sequences essentially amount to almost pure shock value that only undermines the more thoughtful elements of the film. It’s pure maximalism that does have a lot on its mind, but fails to penetrate the surface.

Meanwhile, the performances range from magnetic to distractingly over-the-top. Robbie is of course the stand out, giving a tour-de-force performance as a tragic and troubled movie-star who is a product of the chaos of the time. Calva also turns in a fairly impressive performance, making a name for himself in the world of film. While both actors elevate the material, the characters they are portraying are fairly one-dimensional that feel more like archetypes than fully fledged people. Pitt and especially Tobey Maguire as James McKay fall in the latter, hamming it up a degree that honestly takes away from the film.

At the end of the day, despite its flaws, it’s hard not to commend Babylon as it contains some of the best individual sequences of the year, even if the film as a whole is somewhat of a bloated mess. Chazelle takes some massive swings here, and when they work, they are magical. There is a great film inside this 3+ hour beast, but as it stands, it’s still an impressive achievement that works more often than not even if it may not be anywhere near Chazelle’s best work.

still courtesy of Paramount Pictures

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Tristan French