Babylon

UK Release Date: 20 January 2023

Certification: 18
Director: Damien Chazelle
Cast: Jovan Adepo, Diego Calva, Lukas Haas, Olivia Hamilton, Li Jun Li, Tobey Maguire, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Eric Roberts, Jean Smart, Olivia Wilde

Rating: 89%

Review:

Manny Torres - "I just love watching movies, you know?"

Nellie LaRoy - "I love watching movies too."

This is the representation I needed in film.  

Babylon is Damien Chazelle's love letter to Hollywood, the era of transition between the silent film and the modern motion picture, but more importantly cinema itself. The genre of glorified depictions of Hollywood often felt pretentious to me (Sunset Boulevard) but both Babylon and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood have potential to be amongst my favourite films of all time upon rewatch. Chazelle handles the deconstruction of Hollywood with expert precision, essentially belittling the dream of being involved in film production - presumably why the film received near to no attention at the Oscars. A scathing exhibit of the sheer challenge of making it in modern Hollywood whilst still remaining a celebration of cinema itself. 

That theme is apparent everywhere in Babylon but it comes to the foreground during the climactic conclusion. Sure the messaging is fairly surface level, and that will frustrate some as it comes off as one-dimensional, but it is a pure joy to behold. 

The three central performances from Diego Calva, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie are all great but with a limited amount of screen time Tobey Maguire deserves positive appraisal. An initially tarnished depiction of Charlie Chaplin, in all probability renamed following backlash, his performance acts as the perfect representation of the disgusting underworld present in the industry. 

Damien Chazelle's direction is fantastic. Trusted for the first time with a budget of over $100 million, the production design is insanely flawless. The opening of the film acts as an opportunity for him to illustrate his fantastic artistry. An elephant bursts onto the screen acting as a precursor for events to come. It is loud, thrusting audiences into the story at breakneck pace never looking back. Drug-infused oranges and yellows pop. The filmmaking remains substance influenced throughout with slick editing. Tom Cross appears potentially indecisive with the way he edits the film - a frantic feel accompanies the already raunchy camerawork. 

Justin Hurwitz went absolutely hard with the score. His masterstroke of jazz inspired pieces take the film to a complete other level. 'Voodoo Mama' is an electric experience. It's a rare feat to be able to have a piece of music exude such untouchable confidence with each flamboyant and boisterous beat. On top of that, the love motif, 'Manny and Nellie's Theme', that runs throughout is excellent - providing the story with a sense of heart.