I got a free subscription to Paramount with a Walmart + subscription. I figured I'd try Walmart + and stream Picard. I'm not quite a Trekie but I am a fan of the franchise. Anyway, Babylon was streaming the other night and I'm a big Margot Robbie fan ever since she played the role of Harley Quinn so I decided to try it. Brad Pitt is no slouch either. I would hope they'd entertain, the movie had a 3hr 9min runtime! That's a lot of movie!
Three hours and nine minutes is just too much movie in my opinion. That's not to say I wasn't entertained. It just seems like a lot of time in front of the screen. Anyway, the movie did keep my attention for the total amount of time.
As usual, I'll try to just shoot for the basic plot, and some thoughts, and try for no spoilers.
So the basic plot goes like this... Brad Pitt plays a famous Hollywood actor at the peak of the silent movie craze just before "the talkies" take over. Talkies were when Hollywood went from silent movies to full sound. Margot Robbie plays a young Hollywood starlet trying to get her big break. Both Robbie and Pitt put on stellar performances.
There were also several other supporting characters with various roles showing us the cultural diversity of Hollywood at the time and how this melting pot of characters all got along and worked together. Basically, in 1920s Hollywood, everyone wanted to work on a movie set. "It was where the magic happens".
The movie got my attention from the start because about 5 minutes in we attend a party that looks more like a modern day rave with a bee-bop style jazz band. Half the patrons are naked, everyone is drinking and doing drugs. There's sex and much debauchery. Kind of shows you what Hollywood was right from the start. It's at this party where we meet our cast of characters, the plots begin to form and take shape and we start to follow our cast of characters through the rise and fall of their Hollywood careers.
The movie dives into all the character's hopes and dreams. Many of the entertainers came from nothing and rose to prominence in different Hollywood power circles. With their rise in prominence, many begin to realize that being at the top isn't everything it's cracked up to be. The movie also captures the seedier side of Hollywood right from the start. I will say this, Hollywood was probably a pretty wild place during this era.
So Margot Robbie plays the role of Nellie LaRoy our up and coming Hollywood starlet. Brad Pitt plays the roll of Jack Conrad an established silent movie actor. The picture shows a lot of struggles many of the actors had when the industry switched from silent films to full sound. It's also another one of those movies where you ask yourself, "was this based on something real or true events."
I did Presearch this and discovered that Robbie and Pitt's characters are made up along with many of the other supporting characters. They mixed their characters in with real Hollywood types we all know. As we progress through the history of Hollywood we start to see recognizable figures like Garbo, and Marylin Monroe mixed in adding to the air of authenticity or that this might have actually happened.
So the characters are peppered in with real-life entertainers we all know and love giving it that air of authenticity. I think their is probably an air of mythos or actual history that the character plots were probably based on. At least it felt that way.
Again the movie was 3 hours long. That's a really long time for me to sit through a movie. It kept me entertained, it was really comical in parts. The lives of our protagonists were just completely insane with constant partying and extremely decadent lifestyles. I love jazz music, and there was tons of jazz music and wild party scenes.
I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. About 45 minutes toward the end of the movie it takes a wild twist. It wasn't a bad ending, and I usually like a good twist, but it just wasn't what I was expecting. It wasn't really the ending I wanted. (I'd elaborate on that further and maybe I will in the comments if someone asks but don't want any spoilers in the post). Let's just say it takes a really wild left turn. Maybe an attempt to show Hollywood's ultra-sleazy side, and there are gangsters involved.
In ending, it's a work of fiction, but many of the storylines seem to evolve into stories and histories we've all read about happening in Hollywood. It's a story highlighting the different archetypes of Hollywood, the starlet, the director, and many people starting from the bottom and working their way to the top, only to discover, it's not really all it's cracked up to be.
If the plot intrigues you it might not be a bad way to spend 3 hours of your life. I enjoyed this one. I think you can sum it up as a nostalgic trip down memory lane of early Hollywood and the decadent lifestyles of those at the top. Parts of this movie were serious, a lot of comedy and parts I found funny. I enjoyed Margot Robbie's role a lot. Pitt did an awsome job too, but IMHO he supported Robbie! It was all about her! She really shined in this one.
Image credit: iMDB screen capture.