Review of Babylon (2022) by Moviemitch96 — 23 Dec 2022

WOW... That was one of the most outrageous things I've seen in a LONG time. Written and directed by Damien Chazelle ('Whiplash', 'La La Land '), this film chronicles the lives of several individuals in Hollywood and their various rises to fame, along with others' downfall into washed-up times, from the inception of film in the early 20s silent era all the way to talking and technicolor pictures in the 50s.

There's the young, promising, and aspiring starlet (Margot Robbie) who falls prey to drugs, alcohol, and the glamorous and hard-partying celebrity life, the washed-up silent film star (Brad Pitt) facing his harsh reality and gradual descent into irrelevancy in the sound era, the Hispanic aspiring filmmaker (Diego Calva) who becomes a powerful Hollywood mogul, etc.

So many wild and zany characters populate this sprawling, epic, and very lengthy endeavor of a film (3 hours and 9 minutes to be exact), and it may all seem like a bit too much for some to handle. Well, anyone who has their reservations or if they were to ask me to sum up this film to them, to that I'd say this: This film is the resulting love child if 'The Wolf of Wall Street', 'The Great Gatsby', 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood', and 'Boogie Nights' all came together for a foursome.

Ya... It's even more insane than it sounds, trust me. However, believe it or not, this mostly didn't hinder my enjoyment of this film in the slightest. While it may seem incredibly drawn out, scattershot, or all over the place at times, I couldn't help but find myself taking pleasure and joy out of the chaos and experience as a whole.

I found myself completely drawn in and exhilerated by damn near every second of those nearly three and a quarter hours. Raunchy parties, hard drugs, bloody violence, and plenty of profanity to go around, this film is packed to the brim with it all.

Everything but the kitchen sink. It was all so wild and incredibly entertaining, at least to me it was (this film will no doubt prove polarizing for most audiences.) Production values are top-notch here, with the set pieces and costume design all dazzling from start to finish.

Chazelle's go-to composer Justin Hurwitz also gives us a frenetic and upeat jazzy and memorable score in the same vein of 'Whiplash' and 'La La Land'. As for the performances, there's so many great and memorable ones here, I don't even know where to begin.

Robbie gives what's probably her career-best here. Pitt is in top form as usual here. Even relative newcomer Diego Calva puts on a solid lead performance here. Other scene-stealing supporting turns include Jean Smart as an icy gossip columnist and Tobey Maguire as one coked up creepy mobster.

His scene alone is probably one of the more memorable (and genuinely disturbing) parts of the film for better or worse. Going back to the story, like I said before, it may feel all over the place for a lot of it, seemingly losing its sense of direction well into the second half of the film.

However, I found this to be the rare film where the chaos actually came together to work perfectly in most respects. By the time the film finally reached its admittedly drawn out and somewhat self-indulgent final scene, I was unquestionably and thoroughly exhausted (in the best way possible.

) It's another one of those films that provided me with a unique and too rarely felt unforgettable cinematic experience, and yet another one that reaffirms why I love films so much in the first place. Overall, a complete sensory overload of a film with the hefty runtime, top-notch cast/performances, incredible production values, score, etc.

, and debauchery and graphic content on all fronts to boot. Not only is this far and out one of my absolute favorite films of the year, but I think I may have found myself an all new favorite guilty pleasure right alongside 'The Wolf of Wall Street'.