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Film Review: Babylon (2022)@drax5d
There are filmmakers who punch above their weight, and there are filmmakers who punch way above their weight. And then there is Damien Chazelle when he made Babylon. Arguably one of the most ambitious, but also one of the most disappointing films of this decade, Babylon is a gargantuan, three-hour-long period epic that attempts to capture the chaotic, debauched, and ultimately transformative transition of Hollywood from the silent era to the world of sound cinema. It is a film that swings for the fences with every single frame, a sprawling combination of melodrama, musical, and dark comedy that aims to be both a eulogy for a lost art form and a raucous celebration of its messy, beautiful origins. Yet, for all its ambition, the film collapses under the weight of its own excess, leaving behind a spectacle that is more exhausting than exhilarating.
The plot begins in 1926 in California, where we are introduced to the nominal protagonist, Manuel “Manny” Torres (Diego Calva), a young Mexican immigrant trying to make ends meet through a series of odd jobs. One such job involves transporting an elephant to a spectacularly debauched party at the estate of Don Wallach (Jeff Garlin), the head of the Kinoscope film studio. This bacchanal, where partygoers indulge in every conceivable excess involving alcohol, drugs, and sex, serves as the film’s chaotic introduction to its sprawling cast of characters. Here, Manny meets the studio’s charismatic but fading star, Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt); the brash, aspiring actress Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie); the stoic African American jazz musician Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo); the Chinese lesbian intertitle designer Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li); and the elderly, cynical gossip columnist Elinor St. John (Jean Smart). It is a dizzying introduction to a world that Chazelle clearly loves, but one he struggles to contain.
From this chaotic opening, Manny manages to secure a job at Kinoscope and gradually climbs the ranks to become a studio executive. Meanwhile, Nellie, whose real-life persona perfectly fits her debut role as a “wild child,” quickly becomes a minor star. But the arrival of sound in 1927 changes everything. Once-great actors like Jack Conrad find themselves unable to adapt to the new technology, their voices or their stage training failing them. Manny, who has fallen in love with Nellie, desperately tries to keep her career afloat, but her increasingly irresponsible behaviour threatens to destroy them both stocks.
It is very likely that Chazelle, while making Babylon, had his eyes firmly fixed on the Oscar for Best Picture that had eluded him six years earlier when La La Land lost to Moonlight. The film is certainly an ambitious and prestige production: a three-hour running time, a very high budget, and at least two cast members who belong to the increasingly exclusive club of actors that can be described as true stars—Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Everything about the film screams “award season contender,” from its period setting to its meta-cinematic themes.
Chazelle indeed tries to depict one of the most pivotal chapters in Hollywood’s history: the transition from the “truly magical world of silent cinema and the libertine 1920s towards the more disciplined world of sound cinema in the conservative 1930s.” The film is littered with references to classic films, ranging from The Jazz Singer to Singin’ in the Rain, with footage from the latter extensively used in the film’s 1952 epilogue. Even the characters are based on real people: Lady Fay Zhu is a fictionalised version of Anna May Wong, Elinor St. John is based on British writer Elinor Glyn, and Jack Conrad is clearly inspired by the tragic figure of John Gilbert. Real-life figures like Irving Thalberg (Max Minghella), William Randolph Hearst (Pat Skipper), and Marion Davies (Chloe Fineman) also make appearances stocks.
Yet, despite all these references, Chazelle discards period accuracy in almost every respect, except in one important detail. The 1920s Hollywood, or Jazz Age America in general, was notable for its excess, and Chazelle decides to show it in all of its glory. This includes nudity, sex, graphic violence, and gore, as well as various bodily functions. The latter makes many scenes that are supposed to be darkly humorous feel genuinely scatological, crossing a line from transgressive to simply unpleasant.
On the other hand, Chazelle deliberately employs anachronisms in Justin Hurwitz’s music score, as well as in the costumes and hairstyles worn by Nellie LaRoy. This, in a way, wrecks the suspension of disbelief, at least among hardcore cinephiles or silent Hollywood aficionados. The jarring mix of modern and period elements creates a dissonance that feels less like a clever artistic choice and more like a lack of confidence in the period setting.
The biggest problem for the film, however, is its excessive length and lack of a coherent story. Chazelle seems at odds with himself about whether to use the character of Manny as some sort of audience’s window into the crazy world of old Hollywood or as a true protagonist. Nellie, who is supposed to be some sort of tragic protagonist, is underwritten, her “wild child” persona becoming repetitive rather than compelling. Jack Conrad drowns in historical clichés, his arc of a silent star undone by sound feeling tired and predictable. Both Robbie and Pitt are somewhat too old for their roles, which further undermines the film’s credibility.
In an attempt to provide some closure, Chazelle introduces a storyline involving Nellie being in debt to LA gangster James McKay (Tobey Maguire). This provides some melodrama, dark humour, and scenes of rats being eaten alive in underground clubs. But the film ends on an anti-climactic note, with Manny being exiled back to Mexico. The actual ending, where he returns to Los Angeles to watch Singin’ in the Rain, succumbs to Chazelle’s pretentiousness, with the screen being replaced by a montage of the most important films in the history of cinema. It is a moment of staggering self-indulgence that tries to elevate the film to a grand statement about the magic of cinema but instead feels like a desperate plea for validation.
Giving extra emphasis to “minority” characters who would soon become subject to controversial Oscar quotas also makes the film lose much of its focus. It looks less like an attempt to honour Hollywood history and more like a cheap pandering to contemporary sensibilities, a cynical calculation that undermines the film’s artistic integrity.
Ultimately, Babylon turned into a major commercial flop, and the critics were divided. For a film with such ambition, this usually means very low chances that its bad reputation might improve in the future. Babylon is a monument to overreach, a film that tried to do too much and, in the process, did very little well. It is a fascinating failure, but a failure nonetheless.
Hello everyone dear Movies and TV Shows community, this time I want to share my review of Babylon... I saw this movie a few weeks ago and the truth is I was going in with pretty high expectations, because Damien Chazelle is behind this, and he's the same guy who brought us the amazing La La Land and Whiplash. I was expecting something big, bold and a bit chaotic, and it's worth noting that that's exactly what I got... the movie is a rollercoaster from start to finish, and while it didn't all the time manage to stay at the same steady pace, there's a lot to appreciate here. Let me share with you my impressions, first of all let's talk about the depiction of Hollywood in the 1920's, the director really managed to capture both the glamorous and the chaotic side of this era, everything that revolves around the main characters is glitz and glamour, but soon you dive into the real dark side of fame, and they will go inside the out of control parties, egos, betrayals and absolute madness.
The opening scene is a real shocker, I don't want to give you too many details, but I think it perfectly sets the tone for the whole movie...it's full of wild excess, which I loved, but it's also so much more than that. This movie slowly goes to show how fragile the movie world was at the time, and how quickly people could go from being on top to being forgotten, the story has a bit of a brisk pace that kept me glued to the screen, and that's mostly a good thing, and helps you really enjoy the first half.
Hola a todos querida comunidad de Movies and TV Shows, en esta ocasión quiero compartir mi reseña de Babylon.. esta película la vi hace algunas semanas y la verdad iba con expectativas bastante altas, porque Damien Chazelle está detrás de esto, y es el mismo tipo que nos trajo la increíble La La Land y Whiplash. Esperaba algo grande, audaz y un poco caótico, y cabe destacar que eso fue exactamente lo que recibí.. la película es una montaña rusa de principio a fin, y aunque no todo el tiempo logró mantenerse en el mismo ritmo estable, hay mucho que apreciar aquí. Déjenme compartirles mis impresiones, primero que nada vamos a hablar de la representación del Hollywood en la década de 1920, el director realmente logró captar tanto el lado glamuroso como el caótico de esta época, todo lo que gira alrededor de los protagonistas es brillo y glamour, pero pronto te sumerges al verdadero lado oscuro de la fama, y se adentrarán dentro de las fiestas descontroladas, los egos, las traiciones y la locura absoluta.
La escena inicial es un verdadero shock, no quiero darles muchos detalles, pero creo que marca perfectamente el tono de toda la película.. está llena de excesos salvajes, lo cual me encantó, pero también es mucho más que eso. Esta película poco a poco va mostrando que tan frágil era el mundo del cine en ese momento, y lo rápido que las personas podían pasar de estar en la cima a ser olvidados, la historia tiene un ritmo un poco enérgico que me mantuvo pegado a la pantalla, y eso es en gran parte algo bueno, y ayuda a que disfrutes mucho la primera mitad.
The performances were another great success in this film... we will see Brad Pitt again in a new role, and here, his character, Jack, is a silent film star struggling with the advent of sound films... this actor delivers again a performance that is heartbreaking and at the same time absurdly funny. Margot Robbie as Nelly is also a very good addition to the cast, she is an aspiring actress, she really is one of the most remarkable characters in the whole film.. she is so full of energy and ambition that you can't help but root for her, even when she does things that are practically not good at all.. her energy fills every frame she appears in, I really liked her performance and even reminded me a bit of Harley Quinn. Then there's Diego Calva playing Mexican immigrant Manny, who gets caught up in this very chaotic world of Hollywood.. his performance is a little quieter than the others, but still gives him some depth, especially when he's caught up in all the chaos that unfolds. The cinematography is very good, there are shots that are simply beautiful, I found the camera movement fluid and at the same time vibrant...I think it does manage to completely immerse you in this world that feels so alive.
There is one scene in particular where the camera spins around a party, as if it were dancing with the characters... it's a chaotic, frenetic and very cool shot. The set design is also amazing, it's as if they recreated the decade perfectly, from the magnificent movie sets to the dusty streets of Los Angeles... I really liked that they had that attention to detail, I'm one of those people who love a good historical representation... I think it's an added bonus that allows you to completely get into that era.
Las actuaciones fueron otro gran acierto en esta película.. veremos a Brad Pitt de nuevo en un nuevo papel, y aquí, su personaje, Jack, es una estrella del cine mudo luchando con la llegada de los filmes sonoros.. este actor ofrece de nuevo una actuación que es desgarradora y al mismo tiempo absurdamente divertida. Margot Robbie, como Nelly, también es muy buena adición al elenco, ella es una aspirante actriz, realmente es de los personajes más destacables de toda la cinta.. está tan llena de energía y ambición que no puedes evitar apoyarla, incluso cuando hace cosas que no son prácticamente buenas del todo.. su energía llena cada cuadro en el que aparece, me gustó mucho su interpretación e incluso me recordó un poco a Harley Quinn. Luego está Diego Calva interpretando al inmigrante mexicano Manny, que se ve atrapado en este mundo tan caótico de Hollywood.. su actuación es un poco más tranquila que las demás, pero aun así le da cierta profundidad, especialmente cuando está atrapado en todo el caos que se desarrolla. La cinematografía es muy buena, hay tomas que son simplemente hermosas, el movimiento de la cámara me pareció fluido y al mismo tiempo vibrante.. creo que si logra sumergirte por completo en este mundo que se siente tan vivo.
Hay una escena en particular donde la cámara gira alrededor de una fiesta, como si estuviera bailando con los personajes.. es una toma caótica, frenética y muy genial. La escenografía también está increíble, es como si recrearan perfectamente la década, desde los magníficos sets de cine hasta las calles polvorientas de los ángeles.. me gustó mucho que tuvieron esa atención al detalle, yo soy una de las personas que les encanta una buena representación histórica.. creo que es un plus adicional que te permite adentrarte completamente a esa época.
Although I have to be honest, the movie starts to lose some steam as it progresses, especially past the middle.. and I'm not talking about the technical side, that's still top notch, but the plot starts to feel a bit repetitive, and I think it's in the later stages where the director abuses the theme song a bit... I totally get that it's an iconic song, but it was used so much that it became a bit overdone.. the song starts to appear in moments that feel very forced and not so much exciting, and by the end it lost all the impact it had before, it's easy to play guessing “they're going to play the song here” and then boom, you were right. Don't get me wrong, the movie is not completely predictable, but it's certainly easy to guess some of its surprises... there are also moments where I feel like the director is trying to close everything in a very perfect way, and just that doesn't end up working... I could perfectly see where the story was going, and that took away some of the strength.
The last act, specifically, I feel like it drags out everything the main characters are doing, it felt a bit tedious... the emotional payoff was still there, but the movie seemed to be running out of gas. But still, with these criticisms, I can't deny that Babylon has a certain emotional impact, it's a film that could be considered a love letter to Hollywood for the themes it deals with, but it's also a critique of this very medium.. as we are shown everything that comes with the price of fame, and how fragile everything is in this job.. the peaks are so high, but the falls are really.. brutal. There's a certain emotional punch that comes in some quiet moments, and while it's easy to know they're coming, you can try to enjoy how things unfold.
Aunque debo ser honesto, la película empieza a perder algo de fuerza a medida que avanza, sobre todo al pasar la mitad.. y no hablo del lado técnico, eso sigue siendo de primera, pero la trama empieza a sentirse un poco repetitiva, y creo que es en las etapas posteriores donde el director abusa un poco de la canción principal.. Yo entiendo perfectamente que es una canción icónica, pero se usó tanto que llegó a ser un poco exagerada.. la canción empieza a aparecer en momentos que se sienten muy forzados y no tanto emocionantes, y para el final ya perdió todo el impacto que tenía antes, es fácil jugar a adivinar "van a poner la canción aquí" y luego boom, tenías razón. No me malentiendan, la película no es completamente predecible, pero ciertamente es fácil adivinar algunas de sus sorpresas.. también hay momentos donde siento que el director está intentando cerrar todo de una manera muy perfecta, y justamente eso no termina de funcionar.. podía ver perfectamente hacia dónde se iba dirigiendo la historia, y eso le restó algo de fuerza.
El último acto, específicamente, siento que alarga todo lo que están haciendo los protagonistas, se siente un poco tedioso.. la recompensa emocional aún estaba ahí, pero la película parecía estar quedándose sin gasolina. Pero aun así, con estas críticas, no puedo negar que Babylon tiene cierto impacto emocional, es una película que podría considerarse como una carta de amor a Hollywood por los temas que trata, pero también es una crítica a este mismo medio.. ya que nos muestran todo lo que conlleva el precio de la fama, y lo frágil que es todo en este trabajo.. los picos son tan altos, pero las caídas son realmente.. brutales. Hay cierto golpe emocional que llega en algunos momentos tranquilos, y aunque es fácil saber que vendrán, puedes intentar disfrutar de cómo se desarrollan las cosas.
One other thing I almost forgot to tell you... the dialogue in this movie is sharp and funny at the same time.. it's interesting the way the characters story unfolds, it's often comical yet tragic.. there is a certain undertone of sadness throughout the movie, you can certainly feel it, as these characters are on top of the world.. and watching them struggle with their inner demons and the changing landscape of the movie industry can touch you a little bit. Even though the film drops off in the third act or even a bit before that, you can surely feel that kind of emotional connection with the characters... I think it's impossible to deny that the performances helped a lot in this, although I have been somewhat critical about the development of the last two acts... I want to emphasize that Babylon is still a very ambitious film, I guess even though it has several flaws it aims for something.. and for the most part it manages to get it right.
The scale of the production is something very worth seeing.. all the lavish parties, the moments of quiet introspection, the flashes of evolving cinema.. it all adds up to something that although messy but can be undeniably powerful.. just like the dream it is seeking to portray.. succeeding in film is just that.. it is chaotic and at the same time something that you don't know where it will take you. would I recommend watching it? Well I might, but it sure isn't for everyone... if you're looking for something that's totally perfect or highly polished...maybe it's not your kind of movie. But if on the other hand you're looking for something to watch on a Sunday night with your significant other, something to pass the time... well I could tell you it would be a good choice.
Obviously, be prepared for an excess of songs, some predictability and some funny and awkward moments. I give it a 7.5/10 rating. Honestly the overuse of the theme song and some other problems take some of the punch away... But I can't deny that at no time it bored me... and that's already a plus, and in a way it can leave you thinking... It's a spectacle and I think it could satisfy more than one person. I'll see you in the next ones, I'll leave the trailer here. Take care, bye bye.
Otra cosa que casi se me olvida comentarles.. el diálogo en esta película es afilado y divertido al mismo tiempo.. es interesante la manera en la que la historia de los personajes se desarrolla, es a menudo cómica y a la vez trágica.. hay cierto trasfondo de tristeza a lo largo de la película, ustedes sin duda podrán sentirlo, ya que estos personajes están en la cima del mundo.. y verlos luchar contra sus demonios internos y el cambiante panorama de la industria del cine puede llegar a tocarte un poco. Aunque la película decae en el tercer acto o incluso un poco antes de este, seguramente puedes sentir ese tipo de conexión emocional con los personajes.. creo que es imposible negar que las actuaciones ayudaron mucho en esto, aunque he sido algo crítico en cuanto al desarrollo de los dos últimos actos.. quiero enfatizar que Babylon sigue siendo una película muy ambiciosa, supongo que aunque tiene varias fallas apunta a algo.. y en su mayoría logra acertar.
La magnitud de la producción es algo muy digno de ver.. todas las fiestas lujosas, los momentos de introspección tranquila, los destellos del cine en evolución.. todo suma algo que aunque esté desordenado pero puede ser innegablemente poderoso.. de igual forma que el sueño que está buscando retratar.. triunfar en el cine es justamente eso.. es un caos y al mismo tiempo algo que no sabes a donde te llevará. ¿Recomendaría verla? Pues podría ser que sí, pero seguro que no es para todos.. si buscan algo que sea totalmente perfecto o que esté muy pulido.. tal vez no sea su tipo de película. Pero si al contrario estás buscando algo para ver un domingo en la noche con tu pareja, algo para pasar el rato.. pues podría decirte que sería una buena opción.
Obviamente, prepárense para un exceso de canciones, algo de previsibilidad y algunos momentos graciosos e incómodos. Yo le doy una calificación de 7.5/10. Honestamente el abuso de la canción principal y algunos otros problemas le quitan algo de fuerza.. Pero no puedo negar que en ningún momento me aburrió.. y eso ya es un punto a favor, y de cierta manera puede dejarte pensando.. Es un espectáculo y creo que podría satisfacer a más de uno. bueno, esta sería mi reseña. Nos veremos en las próxima, les dejó el tráiler por aquí. Cuídense mucho, bye bye.
Tell me... have you seen this movie? Has it caught your attention? Tell me what you thought of this review with my opinion, and tell me if it has made you want to watch this movie. You can leave me in the comments your recommendations for future publications! 😊
Cuéntame.. ¿Has visto esta pelicula? Te ha llamado un poquito la atención? Dime que te pareció esta reseña con mi opinión, y dime si te han dado ganas de ver esta pelicula. Puedes dejarme en los comentarios tus recomendaciones para las próximas publicaciones!! 😊
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