Review of Babel (2008) by James K — 31 Jan 2011
Having enjoyed 21 Grams, but found it quite heavy going, I've wanted to see this for a while, but it's taken a lot to gear myself up for what looked like another very serious movie. The most surprising thing about Babel, therefore, is the lightness of touch.
Big things are happening, of course, lives are at turning points, and not everyone ends the film where they want to be. But this isn't without humour, and gentle moments, and is actually a really rather engaging movie, about a diverse range of characters.
Where it loses out, though, is in the central story, the one that links the other three strands, being by far the least engaging. Pitt and Blanchett do a lot of Acting, but fail to draw us into the shooting narrative, to the extent where everytime they're onscreen, I'm waiting for the story to get back to one of the other stories.
Whose fault it is that we don't care about this thread, I'm not sure, but the defecit is more than countered by the power of the other three stories, most especially Rinko Kikuchi as the daughter of the man whose rifle is responsible for the shooting, who we watch come to terms with the death of her mother.
Kikuchi is a delight, and the stand-out performance of a very enjoyable movie.
This review of Babel (2008) was written by James K on 31 Jan 2011.
Babel has generally received mixed reviews.
Was this review helpful?
