Babylon

Babylon (2022)

From the brains behind the stressful intensity of Whiplash and the whimsical yet melancholic  LA LA Land, Damien Chazelle invites you on the wildest of cinematic rides.

Hitting the ground running with a hedonistic orgy in the dusty and desolate Hollywood hills, we rarely stop for breath as Babylon introduces us to the icons of silent movies who must navigate a rapidly changing world of technology. The first scene that this bunch of innovative novices shoot in sound is wonderfully and viscerally frustrating!

Largely snubbed by the Oscars (and audiences) there is a world where Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie are easily nominated in Best Leads. Alas it’s long been suspected that Hollywood likes to avoid revealing its underbelly so explicitly.

As pugnacious New Jersey broad Nellie LaRoy, Robbie explodes glitter as she refuses to smooth her rough edges. What a joy to watch her go absolutely nuts. Particularly in one extravagant scene where she rejects the hypocritical snobbery of High Society.

Pitt is just bloody charming isn’t he? And he’s never better than when playing a weirdo. Granted here he’s a matinee idol, but he has never demonstrated his quirky vulnerability to this degree.

A new leading man emerges in Diego Calva; doing anything to get into pictures he captivates with the plucky can-do attitude of a dreamer with nothing to lose.

As always I take personal umbrage with the running time. Why must everything aspire for 3 hours? Admittedly it dashes by, but still, the last 10 minutes dragged, mainly due to a rather indulgent montage. But let’s not depart on a sour note. The previous 2 hours and 50 minutes were a ferocious joyride. All kudos to Chazelle’s loyal composer Justin Hurwitz. He is rightly Oscar nominated for a Best Original Score that channels the excitement and mischief of the 1920s.

9 Unscrupulous Thumbs Up 👍🏻