Review: "Babylon"

Damien Chazelle's new Hollywood epic is full of excess. Sometimes, to a fault.

Li Jun Li as Lady Fay Zhu in Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon.” (Paramount Pictures)

If Damien Chazelle’s La La Land is a harmonious ode to old Hollywood and the fools who dream, Babylon is like its less-musical evil twin. Totally demented, depressing and in various ways, full of excess. It’s excessive to both its benefit and its own detriment.

Before going further into where it succeeds and falters, let’s start at the literal beginning. The film opens at an extravagant Hollywood party with pretty much anyone who’s anyone. Both those who’re a part of the Hollywood system, like famed film star Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt) and gossip columnist Elinor St. John (Jean Smart), and those trying to break their way in. The central incoming artists in question are aspiring filmmaker Manny Torres (Diego Calva), ambitious Jersey starlet Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), cabaret singer Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li), and jazz trumpet player Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo). Besides showing the crazed ride that Babylon becomes, the opening party sequence lets us in on who we’ll be following on this ride.

As we go on a long journey of Hollywood’s transition from silent films to the talkies, it definitely lives up to the long part because, frankly, this movie is way too long. Even at a three-hour runtime, some characters are given less face time than others. Frustratingly, one of the more sidelined ones is the film’s acting MVP: Li Jun Li as Lady Fay. As she plays a character inspired by real-life movie star Anna May Wong, Li Jun Li exudes such magnetism in every frame she appears in that she makes one wish that she took center stage more.

While Diego Calva, Margot Robbie, and Brad Pitt deliver capable leading star turns, the supporting/cameo players end up leaving a grander impression. Besides Li Jun Li, there’s Jean Smart whose resonant monologue on the constant death and rebirth of cinema is one of the film’s standout moments. Meanwhile, Spike Jonze’s cameo as a European filmmaker and Jovan Adepo’s performance as Sidney have one wishing each of them maybe got their own solo movie.

Due to the scattered screenplay, all the interesting side stories don’t create a cohesive whole. As a result, Chazelle’s stylized direction outweighs the writing. Still, there are some expertly directed sequences. One in particular involves Nellie filming a scene from an upcoming sound picture. As they’re doing take after take, the stressed-out acting from Robbie and the actors playing the crew as well as the razor-sharp editing from Tom Cross reflect the ongoing tension to nail the scene perfectly.

It’s one of a handful moments that stick out within this epic that’s almost too grand in scope. With so much to say about Old Hollywood, its engagingly sensational direction, and plenty of graphic content, Babylon is, simply put, a lot. Even when its frenetic energy kicks off to a high start, it still gradually loses momentum.

In hindsight, maybe it intentionally loses momentum as the characters solemnly reflect on a fallen Hollywood era. Given how expensive, swing-for-the-fences visions such as this are feeling like a dying breed as IP content with risk-averse storytelling dominates movie going, that gives Babylon a bit more eerie relevance.

But in the end, even with some standout moments and alive performances across-the-board, Babylon needed more than just moments and great acting to reach its fullest potential. It’s possible it may get better the more I think about it. For now, though, it remains a mixed bag.

Grade: B-

Babylon is now playing in theaters nationwide.