Babylon review – Ben-Blur

I’m all for excess in movies. It’s how you end up with an amazing spectacle; something that may not necessarily be good but still memorable and entertaining, and that’s the essence of big screen entertainment. Excess sits at the heart of Babylon, a movie in all capital letters. Despite the giant crack that runs along the length of its sound stage, there is a lot of movie in this movie.

Late 1920s Hollywood is one big party, a decadent dish of debauchery that’s served on the backs of people and their ambitions to be part of something greater than life. That’s the case with young Mexican immigrant Manny Torres (played by Diego Calva), who aspires to climb the studio system ranks whatever it takes. The same goes for self-proclaimed bombshell Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) who was, in her words, born already a star. Also attending this party is silent movie titan Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), hard-working but overlooked jazz musician Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo), sensational columnist Elinor St. John (Jean Smart), and seductive cabaret singer Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li).

It seems like the party will never end as our players live the lives they’ve always wanted. But, with the advent of talkies, the realities of show business and a rising tide of conservative sensibility that’s about to wash over Tinseltown, our heroes are confronted by the harsh truths of an industry that’s as brutal as it is extravagant.

There’s a lot of ambition present here. Not only is Babylon an R-rated late-night showstopper in the vein of The Wolf of Wall Street (with the same amount of sex and cocaine present in a typical camera shot), but it’s working hard to be a sweeping blockbuster epic that hearkens back to when movies were an event. Think of that throwback time when Gone with the Wind and The Sound of Music went on sell-out roadshows across the country, standing as testament to the artistic and spectacular might of the medium, before sweeping up all the awards afterwards. Does Babylon achieve its emulation goals?

Well, it’s certainly an energetic behemoth. The film’s prologue is one of the best edited and paced scenes I’ve seen recently, and it cements the tone for the first half of the film’s runtime. Babylon simply does not stop for love nor money during the first ninety minutes – to the extent it just goes by in a blur and you’re left with stars floating around your head. And thank goodness it does. With a three-hour-plus runtime, writer-director Damien Chazelle asks us to indulge his latest love letter to the film industry much more than with his acclaimed La La Land. Fortunately, Chazelle is still competent and has a distinct vision so whatever one may think of Babylon in terms of content or story, it’s a solid production accompanied by eclectic visuals and cinematography.

Talking story, though, the narrative and its emotional disconnect from the audience, is the film’s biggest blunder. Now to be fair, the anthology nature of Babylon – a group of people existing pseudo-separately from each other and facing obstacles unique to them – means there is very little time (ironically) or opportunity to invest in what each character is going through.

Manny and Nellie may be the central focus and the emotional throughline, with Jack Conrad’s sputtering career prominently hanging overhead, but we cannot see them as anything other than ambitious schmucks. There’s no time or reason for sympathy. Everyone’s out for themselves, and to have a good time in the process, and that’s it. The film is also very unevenly balanced when it comes to its characters. It’s annoying that the subplots featuring Sidney Palmer and Lady Fay Zhu, two individuals who have the most to lose and suffer in this grand endeavour we call show business, are relegated to the background.

All this said, I don’t dislike Babylon. In fact, I recommend it. It has an amazing cast. Tobey Maguire should have made his appearance earlier on in the film but he, along with overacting Jean Smart, are definite highlights. They know exactly what the script implied. Margot Robbie is clearly pushing hard to get that Oscar, but her talent is obvious and she enjoys excellent chemistry with Diego Calva, himself breaking out on a high note with this film. Bizarrely, Brad Pitt is the weakest link here, but he remains ideally cast as an industry titan unwillingly entering the final stages of his career. And honestly, I will watch anything that Eric Roberts acts in because he is a delight.

The film is also stunning to see and hear. Composer Justin Hurwitz’s score is an outright winner. The percussion mixed with ragtime tunes reminiscent of the period is the dictionary definition of bombastic. It. Never. Lets. Up. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren (La La Land and No Time to Die) makes Los Angeles in 1926 come across like a dry hellscape that only the most jacked and drunk professionals can survive and thrive in. Babylon looks expensive, with loads of extras and a variety of locations – also reminiscent of the roadshow epics of the 50s and 60s. It’s for these reasons, and despite a very exasperated ending (one that actually solicited a chuckle from yours truly), that Babylon is still worth the price of admission.

In a somewhat poetic way, Babylon’s flaws are intertwined with and reflected in its story. The party’s a whole lot of fun right up until it has to end. The film has as much energy as the characters can muster, flagging as they, and the movie industry, mature. Babylon attempts to be something provocative and life-changing in the same way its players want to be part of something provocative and life-changing. In the end, all you can do is sit back, watch Hollywood do what it does best, and wish you could escape to a place you really shouldn’t go.