Babylon is Damien Chazelle’s latest feature film starring Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt and Diego Calva. Babylon tells the tale of three Hollywood hopefuls; climbing the ladder of success in the ever-changing, often merciless, 1920’s film industry. Chazelle examines ambition and its ruthlessness; illustrates the fragility of fame and asks the question: Hollywood success… is it talent, or just sheer luck? Despite his despondency, Babylon is still a thrill-seekers dream. Wild, reckless and uninhibited; Chazelle takes us on a journey of hedonism and debauchery in his ‘roaring 20’s’, 3-hour long Epic. 

To say Babylon has had a mixed response is an understatement. With Chazelle’s 23 Academy Award Nominations, 10 of which he won, its only expected that anything he does will be highly anticipated and held to a high standard of perfection. However, regardless of critical response, Chazelle has certainly developed and confirmed a cinematic style that is idiosyncratic to himself, which he only furthers in Babylon. Yes, it may not be to everyone’s taste however, it is refreshing to see a filmmaker be bold and unapologetic in his artistic vision- refusing to conform to what Hollywood believes to be a good, profitable movie.

Personally, I have enjoyed all of Chazelle’s movies, and defiantly enjoyed Babylon. Is it the best movie I’ve ever seen? No. Is it his best work? Absolutely not (Whiplash still takes the prize for me). Nonetheless, his sharp characterisations, excellent cinematography and integration of an electric score meant I was certainly entertained for the duration. 

Standing at a whooping 3 hours 9 minutes it is, without a doubt, too long. I may be biased as I always prefer shorter films, but I felt Chazelle missed many opportunities to tighten the script. Its length is definitely felt self-indulgent, and the picture as a whole would have been much more impactful if 30 minutes had been shaved off. Thankfully, Tom Cross’ razor sharp edit is specific and stylish, rooted in the music, and made these 3 hours not feel as tedious as they may sound. Justin Hurwitz’s score is reminiscent of the work he did on La La Land, as we hear echoes of the desire and aspiration felt by Mia and Sebastian. Babylon’s Nellie LaRoy is equally as unsatisfied, as she longs for the attention and validation of stardom, and Hurtwitz scores this with an interesting motif. 

Hurtwitz’s score is grounded in the narrative and Chazelle’s keen rhythmical ear directs the characters almost as dancers, neatly in tucked into the sound. The score establishes the boisterous, rowdy 1920’s party scene interestingly: combining contemporary riffs to a 98-piece Jazz orchestra. Hurtwitz has openly discussed his Rock and Roll inspirations (names like The Rolling Stones and AC/DC) and his modernisation of the classic Jazz sound sets the scene without feeling retro. It’s exciting to see a movie integrate the sound with such precision rather than just carelessly slapping it on during the edit. Its unsurprising Babylon has found itself in the ‘Best Original Score’ category of the 2023 Oscars.

The 1920’s saw cinema change forever: technology advanced and Hollywood moved from silent to sound films. Themes of transition and change are interwoven into Chazelle’s three central characters, and the shifts that occur in Hollywood seem to be macrocosmic of their individual stories. We meet Nellie LaRoy (played by Margot Robbie), an enigmatic, irrational, cocaine sniffing young actress, hungry for a life of fame and notoriety. Nellie is talented and certainly has that ‘star-like’ quality she so passionately talks about (“You don’t become a star, honey. You either are one, or you aren’t”), Nellie is the perfect example of the tragic hero: she climbs the ladder of success… only to live a life of misery and exploitation when everybody finally knows her name.

On the other hand, Jack Conrad (played by Brad Pitt), is at the height of his career. He lives in a mansion and stars in every film currently being produced, he seems to be living any aspiring actor’s dream. However, audiences have an awful habit of getting bored. Chazelle reminds us of the fickle mind of the public eye as we watch Jack fall from greatness to become the washed-up movie star. 

Chazelle holds a mirror to us all. Why do we idolize these Hollywood stars? Why do we become so invested in their lives? But most importantly… why are we so excited to see their downfall? Now, this incredibly ironic… when we have the likes of Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt acting as the vessel for this social scorn. But, it’s definitely something worth thinking about. 

Manuel “Manny” Torres is easily the most interesting of the three central characters in Babylon. Manny is a labourer having immigrated from Mexico, he is intelligent, hard-working and idealistic; and will stop at nothing to pursue his life-long dream of working on a film set. Manny sells his soul for the industry: he abandons his Mexican roots, Americanizes his name and lies about being from Madrid to impress wealthy film executives. However, it’s Manny’s perpetual obsession with the American Dream which is ultimately his downfall, as we see his rise and fall in ‘Gatsby-eqsue’ style. Chazelle challenges an industry that is elitist and prejudice.

“A hate letter to Hollywood and a love letter to movies.” 

Wild, glorious and troubled: Babylon establishes itself into a broken industry.

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Lucy Speer

5th of February 2023