"BABYLON" (2022, DAMIEN CHAZELLE)

 ”It’s bigger than you.”

Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) comes to Hollywood, convinced she’s a star. And she dances, fights, and snorts her way to the top. At the same time, Manny (Diego Calva) wants to break in while he’s told to stay in his lane. Brad Pitt plays Jack Conrad, an actor who might be through; it’s astounding how much Conrad’s situation in Hollywood mimics Pitt’s right now.

The level of insanity, as we time travel to this den of iniquity is just completely outrageous. Director Damien Chazelle really didn’t hold back. One of the costume highlights was Estelle’s (Katherine Waterston) gold dress. It was also pretty surreal to see Olivia Wilde’s scream-out match with Brad Pitt. 

One weak link was Nellie LaRoy’s overall look. The wild red dress she wears to the initial party makes sense. However, her messy hair looks like it’s straight out of the 1980s.  She would have been run out of town in the 1920s! Also, LaRoy’s mascara smears, but doesn’t run when she cries. I'm not sure waterproof mascara had been invented yet! It seems like all the costumes and sets were perfect, yet this was a huge stain on the movie.

I also find it very interesting that Mandy Moore was the choreographer for this film. All the dance moves feel natural yet completely wild.

The anti-Semitic slurs were unwarranted. Everything that leads up to final bit seemed superfluous. Any director who makes a film over two hours is unbridled and is not thinking about the audience's bladder and should be restrained. 

I am pretty sure that there will be a mixed reaction to this film. It goes too far, and for what purpose? It doesn’t have the charm of La La Land. It instead focuses on shock value and might pander to an audience who is already film literate.
Hey audience, did you know about silent pictures? Did you know that when things transitioned to talkies, things got complicated and many people were out of a job? Hey audience, did you know that there were literally hundreds of movies and one movie in particular that already covered this history? Yikes!

I suppose it’s up to the audience to decide whether they want to see this train wreck. At times, it’s very entertaining and well-done and at times I wondered not only who greenlit this, but who in the world would be able to market it! Good luck.

Vegan alert:
-Elephant exploitation
-Ice cream and conversations about ice cream
-Furs
-Fox stole
-Lobster
-Animal chained (alligator)
-Man eats rats
-Riding on horseback