Film: Babylon

GENRE: Drama Comedy
RATING: R for graphic nudity, bloody violence, strong language
RUNTIME: 3 hours and 8 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Margot Robbie (Wolf of Wall Street, Birds of Prey)
Brad Pitt (Ocean’s 11, Bullet Train); Diego Calva (Narcos: Mexico)
DIRECTOR: Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash, First Man)
WRITER: Chazelle (La La Land, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Whiplash)
PLOT: The rise and fall of multiple characters in early Hollywood.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I’m interested in early Hollywood.          

STORY STUFF: In my film class, I talk about early Hollywood and how it was compared to Babylon. I hope my students don’t watch this until they are a bit older. The utter debauchery and glorification of excess in the first thirty minutes makes Wolf of Wall Street look like an innocent episode of Paw Patrol. It is insane. You have to roll your eyes at the depravity of it all. After we’re exposed to this craziness, we are given a glimpse into the chaos of early Hollywood. This was fun. The lack of safety on the sets are outrageous. As they span a few years, we are introduced to the difficulty of adding sound. There is a set filming sequence where assistant director PJ Byrne (Spirited) loses it that literally brought tears to my eyes I was laughing so hard. After the second hour, the film falls apart under the weight of Chazelle’s self-indulgence. The third hour drags as the stars fall and we are introduced to Toby Maguire as James McKay and we have to see even more disturbing depravity. It’s unfortunate that Chazelle goes to this extreme of content and length while we lose interest in the main characters. What a shame.

ACTING STUFF: Robbie is on fire as an aspiring actress who makes it big but is too addicted to cocaine and gambling. In the end, she annoys me with dumb decisions. Pitt is suave as a silent film star who has trouble with the talkies; he nails his role. I really enjoyed Calva as a driver who makes it big but also makes some dumb decisions at the end. There are a bunch of fun roles here and there but the stand out for me is Byrne, who stole the show in that one scene.     

ARTISTIC STUFF: The production design is outrageous as it needs to be, as are the costumes. The cinematography is sharp. The music is jazzy and pounding. All the elements work in a beautiful harmony. The editor should have shaved the last hour off the movie though.

VERDICT: Three stars out of five (four stars for the first two hours)
SEE IT IF: You can stand the debauchery and can waste the last hour.
UPCOMING REVIEW:  The Banshees of Inisherin