Babylon (2022)

 

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Time: 3h 9mins

Director: Damien Chazelle

Quick Summary: Decadence, depravity, and outrageous excess led to the rise and fall of several ambitious dreamers in 1920s Hollywood.

There is something I love about Damien Chazelle, and it's his drive to give us characters that are so willing to reach their dreams even if they have to go through so many heartbreaking experiences. There are so many scenes in this that detail how much work goes into two seconds of film, down from people sitting around waiting for a camera, or the frustrations that began with the introduction of sound into movies. Those two excellent scenes remind us that none of this is easy, even if it all looks so much fun from the outside. That is what Damien Chazelle does, he rips away romanticism; In Whiplash he showed us that the music industry is brutal and can be soul-destroying; La La Land he showed us how romance can get in the way of people's dreams and how tough the Hollywood industry can be; Babylon he shows us that film making isn't always fun and easy, and that people can fall very deep into desperation. 

Every aspect of this movie is amplified to the max. It is not just the writing and the direction that make this movie so spectacular, but the cinematography is what makes this so good. Fun fact, this film was actually shot on 35mm film, which honestly is such a clever touch that not many people would appreciate.

Filled with a cast of well-known actors, everyone smashes their roles out of the park. Everyone pours their soul into their characters and really brings them to life. What makes them so amazing is that Damien Chazelle somehow manages to make the most unapologetic and outrageous characters, and we the viewers adore them. You watch as they run their lives into recks, take wrong turns and fall into desperation, but you still have hope for them. It's fascinating since the romanticism has gone, you realise the film era of the 1920/the 30s, wasn't all that kind and joyous. You realise how easy it is to be deluded by the image of movies, and by the people as well as there were absolutely zero rules. And this is what this film is about at its core. 

Following Whiplash and La La Land, Chazelle continues to incorporate his love of jazz but raises his game in terms of direction and production, both of which are on an epic, eye-popping scale. The score  Everything, from the visuals to the sound to the colours is so busy, loud and extravagant but they all flow together and nothing clashes, they work brilliantly. All of this works together to express things such as tension, excitement, and so many more emotions but on such a grand scale. Everything feels like a fever dream that you don't want to leave.

Through his writing and energetic direction, Chazelle is able to give the audience a true sight of Hollywood at the peak of silent film. Not just the insane parties, but the studio lots that had multiple films shooting at wild paces just feet from each other. And the montages are so well done in this, they build up to explosive moments for our three main protagonists. There is so much excitement in this film that makes it absolutely flies by, I was not even bothered that this film was three hours long. In fact, I was glad about it, since everyone was fully developed and fleshed out and you really got to appreciate everything.

But Chazelle is also able to masterfully bring the film to an abrupt halt, exposing the issues of the industry, how lives were destroyed, and how the audience can love you one day and hate you the next. And on top of both of those things, the film is also hilarious. One-liners, visual comedy, and so much vulgar humour. This film packs so much into it and it is all part of something so grand in story and scale. The plot does pinball back and forward between the characters, making it a tiny bit hard to follow at the start, 

This film is amazing and it gets under your skin instantly, the title card not appearing until 30 mins into it really show that. Yes, this is a love letter to films but it really is so much more. It's unafraid to be bold and show the viewer what it's really like, and I adore it for that.

10/10

"I’ve never done nothing except disappoint people my whole life. But I made it on my terms, not theirs."