At its finest, the latest film from director Damien Chazelle, “Babylon,” is a dazzling and alluring “Great Gatsby”-like tale of opulent luxury and personal devastation — just substitute Hollywood for the Hamptons.
What detracts from the film’s enjoyment, though, is that it is another another tribute to Tinseltown, resembling Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and the Coen brothers’ “Hail, Caesar!”
Occasionally it is stunning, and occasionally it is derivative.
Running time: 189 minutes. Rating: R (strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity, bloody violence, drug use, and pervasive language.) On release December 23.
However, there are worse individuals with whom to spend three hours than Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie.
“Babylon” begins in the early 1920s, before “The Jazz Singer” and “talkies” changed the film industry in 1927. It is set during the carefree Pre-Code era, before censorship and morality standards stifled Hollywood’s freewheeling fun and laissez-faire attitude.
Pitt, exuding the easy star power he always does, portrays Jack Conrad, a famous but fading silent film star who is debonair but foolish, wooden, and a bit of a scoundrel. Robbie portrays Nellie LaRoy, a New Jersey rebel with a strong accent who aspires to become a movie star. At the beginning of the film, she seizes her opportunity at a rowdy Hollywood party held in a mansion.
The party is straight out of “Moulin Rouge,” except that there are piles of cocaine and the elephant in this film is alive.
“Babylon” opens during a rowdy Hollywood party which Nellie attends (Margot Robbie).
Chazelle evidently enjoys filming these intricate, maze-like sequences filled with extras streaming in and out of luxuriously outfitted rooms, bawdily dancing, and engaging in a variety of family-unfriendly behaviors. Much of the film is as frenetic and brisk as the director’s Los Angeles freeway introduction in “La La Land” (his other homage to Hollywood). As with that musical, Justin Hurwitz’s score is again dominated by percussion and brass, and at times the beat is so strong that you cannot hear the actors over it.
In a huge field where silent films are being shot, an equally exciting scene occurs. Nellie receives her big break dancing on a saloon stage, where she demonstrates that she can cry on order. In a period war picture, Jack drags his intoxicated self into an epic fight. The frenzy as many videos are made before the sun sets captures the no-HR, inebriated, Scotch tape-and-rubber-bands sloppiness of the early days.
Jack’s hanger-on, Manny (Diego Calva), catches the attention of the producers when he desperately searches for a replacement camera.
Then, we observe Manny, who is hopelessly in love with Nellie, ascend the levels of the studio system and become a great producer. Nellie’s star explodes at the same time that despondent and aging Jack’s disintegrates.
Nellie takes elocution classes to sound decent and respectable when the talkies arrive (a reference to “Singin’ in the Rain,” which plays a significant role in “Babylon,” as well as Kaufman and Hart’s “Once in a Lifetime” and other plays and films).
The film’s greatest moment depicts Nellie attempting to speak lines while walking on the set of her debut picture with sound. The crew simply cannot capture a nice take. Gaffers sneeze, doors bang, Nellie can’t find her target under the mike. The assistant director’s (P.J. Byrne) profane screaming is unbelievably amusing. Chazelle’s humor is exceptionally well-written throughout.
Robbie is at her most engaging and provocative in roles such as Nellie. She acts and speaks as if she were Harley Quinn transplanted to sunny California, saying and doing anything she desires. A supernova.
Not to be underestimated is Calva’s extraordinary ability to appear awestruck in the distance. Manny is our guide through this gluttonous world that teeters on the edge of a precipice, and he reminds us of Hollywood’s moments of pure magic.
Jean Smart also appears as Elinore St. John, a gossip columnist who resembles Hedda Hopper. She gives Jack a moving speech about how stars come and go, but celluloid endures forever. Still, her accent, which is neither British nor mid-Atlantic, makes her unsuitable for the part.
At the three-quarter mark, “Babylon” hits a snag.
In this parody, Chazelle becomes so preoccupied with exposing the filthy underbelly of Hollywood that he goes beyond when Tobey Maguire forces Manny into a desert, multi-level S&M sex dungeon, complete with an alligator and circus performers. It is a scene that could have been taken from any trashy season of “American Horror Story.”
This hiccup leads to a poignant moment at the conclusion, set in 1952, when we are confronted with the impact of movies and cinematic creativity on our lives. It is a great concept in a sea of too many concepts. The film is approximately 40 minutes too lengthy, and momentum fails to build before the conclusion.
Nonetheless, when the director’s party is in full swing, you’ll wish you were invited.
»Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie shine in a familiar tale of show business«