The year is 1926. Hollywood is beginning a transition period with the incoming arrival of synchronized sound. While it is a very important era in cinema, it is one that hasn’t been portrayed in film quite often, outside of a few works, such as “Singin’ in the Rain.” This is where the work of art that is “Babylon” enters.
The viewer follows the changing landscape of Hollywood in the late 1920s through the eyes of three people in the film industry: an immigrant who aspires to be a part of Hollywood, a movie star and an aspiring actress.
Diego Calva is Manny Torres, an immigrant who wants to make it in Hollywood. One night, Manny encounters two people at a party and soon becomes part of something bigger. Calva gives an excellent performance as this figure who seeks to bring something new to Tinseltown.
Margot Robbie gives an amazing turn as Nellie LaRoy, an aspiring actress from New Jersey. Robbie embodies this larger-than-life character throughout a variety of scenes, such as an elite gathering in the second act of the film. An example of how great her performance is, is a scene that takes place in New York, where she is discussing her past with Manny, and her frustration with people who had discouraged her from pursuing her career. In my opinion, it is one of the best performances of her career so far.
Brad Pitt is stellar as always as Jack Conrad, a huge silent film star who invites Manny to the set of his latest picture, kickstarting the beginning of Torres’ presence in Hollywood. His character is inspired by several silent movie stars, who had to make the transition to sound, such as John Gilbert. With charismatic and humorous elements in his portrayal of Conrad (such as in the scenes where he is working on film sets), Pitt gives one of his best performances.
In a great supporting performance, Jean Smart portrays Elinor St. John, a gossip columnist who is an acquaintance of Jack Conrad. One specific scene that makes her performance so great is a powerful monologue that she gives during the final act.
Tobey Maguire’s performance is absolutely terrifying. Anytime he is on screen, one can feel an unnerving presence, with a performance that will easily get under the viewer’s skin.
An aspect that I love about the ensemble cast is the plethora of performances from up-and-coming actors, such as Li Jun Li, who gives a great supporting performance as Lady Faye, a writer of intertitles and frequent party goer, who is based on pioneering Asian American actress Anna May Wong.
There is also a great appearance from Eric Roberts, as Nellie’s inebriated father and business manager, Robert Roy.
As for the direction and screenplay, Damien Chazelle depicts an era of decadence, debauchery and depravity that permeated that period of cinema. This contrasts with the sanitized image of Hollywood that was featured in Variety and newsreels such as Fox Movietone News, among others. The first 30 minutes of this picture reflects this lack of sanitization, which consists of a sea of sweaty bodies illuminating the silver screen, fueled only by statues filled with mountains of cocaine and other substances. Along with this, there are other sequences that reflect this vision, such as a particularly repellent sequence in the final act.
The overall film itself drips with excess, as the viewer is immediately thrown into this hedonistic land known as Babylon.
Chazelle showcases a deconstruction of the glitz and glamour of the Golden Age of Hollywood, with visuals that conflict with what is typically shown in film about Old Hollywood. The title of the film itself is a reference to this aspect, referring to the title of Kenneth Anger’s infamous book “Hollywood Babylon”, in which he explores scandals from the Golden Age with a virulent pen (albeit most of them being fabricated, or being erroneously referred to as truth). For instance, there is a scene during the first act that seemed to have been inspired by the Fatty Arbuckle-Virginia Rappe scandal, which is covered in Anger’s book.
One aspect that contributes to the brilliance of “Babylon”, is how humorous it is. It is a hilarious film. Whether it be the sequence after Manny is invited to the production of one of Jack Conrad’s numerous costume dramas, a drunken drug-fueled escapade involving a rattlesnake in the desert, or a tumultuous rehearsal shoot of one of Nellie LaRoy’s films in the year 1928 (during the burgeoning beginnings of the early sound era), it is a film that balances drama with comedy quite well, showing the brilliance of Chazelle’s pen.
In terms of the cinematography, Linus Sandgren was the ideal choice for this picture. Sandgren (who also did the camerawork for “No Time to Die”) shoots it on 35mm film, giving the film a natural look. With visuals such as the filmed battles and combat sequences of one of Jack’s pictures and the arid environment of the outdoor film sets of Kinoscope Studios, Sandgren captures a series of stunning shots. Other incredible visuals include a long tracking shot of Manny at the party at the mansion, or the grainy in-film footage that emulates the movies of the time, such as the costume pictures that Jack Conrad starred in, or the edgy short films of Nellie LaRoy.
As for the soundtrack, the Justin Hurwitz-composed score is easily one of my favorites of 2022. Hurwitz composes amazing jazz numbers, such as the upbeat high-energy piece Coke Room (which is featured in one of the first scenes that Manny meets Nellie), which fits the film perfectly. The same can be said for some of the pieces in the final act of the film, such as Finale (which is a melody of the Coke Room and Voodoo Mama pieces). It is a soundtrack that will stick with the viewer for days.
In the midst of awards season, “Babylon” arrives, galloping on a fiery chariot, presenting a film about Hollywood that hasn’t exactly been seen before. It is a film that is continuously mesmerizing, beginning to end, throughout the three-hour runtime. It is a smart deconstruction of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and I can see it being considered a misunderstood masterpiece in the near future. I highly implore seeing this film, as one doesn’t get a studio film like this often. It is easily my favorite film of 2022.
