Is it all worth it? That’s the tough question. Chazelle gives lip service to the idea that this version of landing on the moon is worth the trip, but he drags his characters and the viewers through so much misanthropy to get there that it’s hard to believe him. “Babylon” is a film of stunning parts—both individual scenes, performances, and tech elements—but it feels like the magic touch that Chazelle needed to pull them together in an honest way eludes him. There’s something to be said about a film being so robustly unapologetic, but I felt as manipulated and deluded as the outsiders in this film who are eaten up by the Hollywood machine by the time it was over. One might argue that’s intentional—a “feel bad” Hollywood movie is kind of rare—but it’s the difference between pulling back a curtain and simply rubbing your face in elephant shit.
And that’s how “Babylon” opens, introducing us to Manny Torres (Diego Calva), a Mexican American in the city of angels at the end of the silent film era. He’s trying to get an elephant to an insane Hollywood party, the kind of drug- and sex-fueled affair that was only whispered about in the gossip rags of the time. Chazelle uses the orgiastic bacchanal to introduce his players, including an aspiring actress perfectly named Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), who catches Manny’s eye just as her star is about to rise. We also meet the suave Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), a silent film star about to leave his third wife and be struck by the fickle finger of fame as talkies come into the picture and the wheel turns to a new era of stars. There’s a jazz trumpet player named Sidney (Jovan Adepo), and the underwritten role of a cabaret singer named Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li). Gossip journalist Elinor St. John (Jean Smart) writes about it all while recognizable faces like Lukas Haas, Olivia Wilde, Spike Jonze, Jeff Garlin, and even Flea flirt on the edges of the story.
It’s an undeniably ace ensemble, led by another fearless turn from Robbie and a star-making one from Calva, but Pitt is the stand-out, conveying a sense of lost glory that feels almost personal at times. Pitt has been a star for over 30 years—he’s seen legends like Jack Conrad come and go, and he imbues his performance with a relatable melancholy that gives the entire film depth that it could have used in a few more places.
Chazelle’s ambitious tapestry approach focuses on the ascending arcs of the outsiders—Manny, Sidney, and Nellie don’t understand they’re part of a system that values them about as much as it does the equipment it needs to shoot the films (maybe less), and even the star Jack Conrad will discover how disposable legends can be. All of them become power players in their own way—Nellie holds the screen in a way that few actresses other than Robbie could convey convincingly; Sidney’s musical talent ascends as sound takes over the silents; Manny is clearly one of the smarter people on a set, and that grants him an increasing number of decisions. There’s an underdeveloped love story between Manny and Nellie, but this is a film that’s more about love of movies and Hollywood history than romance. It is also loaded with an overwhelming blend of historical detail and urban legends. Chazelle clearly did his homework.