Babylon – ABC Film Challenge – Oscar Nomination – N (Nellie LaRoy) – Babylon – Movie Review
Director: Damien Chazelle
Writer: Damien Chazelle (Screenplay)
Cast
- Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
- Margot Robbie (Birds of Prey)
- Jean Smart (Garden State)
- Olivia Wilde (Don’t Worry Darling)
- Diego Calva (I Promise You Anarchy)
Plot: A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.
Runtime: 3 Horus 9 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Babylon starts in 1926 in Beverly Hills, as a massive drug-filled party for the elite is happening. Manuel (Calva) works as help for the party, where superstar actor Jack Conrad (Pitt) turns the most heads. Outside, Nellie LaRoy (Robbie) looks to crash the party, with Manuel helping her get to the drug stash.
The party gives Manuel and Nellie their first breaks in moviemaking. Nellie is in a movie, while Manuel gets to work as a runner on Jack’s latest picture. This gets to show the pure chaos of the era. The one is the beginning of the future for the stars, as they learn how early Hollywood would make and break stars.
Verdict on Babylon
Babylon is a comedy musical drama that follows three people’s careers in 1920s Hollywood. We have the established megastar, the aspiring star and the person that is working his way up behind the scenes. We get to see the rise and fall that the three go through as they try to adapt to the constantly changing environment.
This is a chaotic movie that is way too long, it never needs to be 3 hours long. The party sequences are crazy with so much going on that they are nearly impossible to keep up with things. While the movie does get a glimpse into the serious situation going on for the characters. It is the nonsense going on around the chaos that holds everything back.
The performances are strong even if it is very hard to support any of the characters in the film. Well, maybe Manuel as he is looking to work his way up with hard work. Tobey Maguire’s part of the movie is bar far the most interesting journey we take here.
Final Thoughts – Babylon is an overly long chaotic experience.
