Wait, This Isn’t the 5SOS Song: A Babylon Ramble
A few weeks ago [one month actually, now that I’m getting around to putting this up for y’all], I took the plunge and finished off a full weekend of moviegoing with Babylon, written and directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Diego Calva, Margot Robbie, and Brad Pitt. I’ve since had a few conversations about the film, and the more I think about it, the more I have to say about it. Being that I don’t know how to shut up, I won’t.
I’ll start by boiling it down. If you don’t want to read further, just stick to this paragraph. If this movie wasn’t as long as it is, or if three-hour films were the norm and not reserved for things like Avatar and superhero movies, I actually think it would’ve been far better received. It’s got some beautiful and masterful scenes, a magical performance or three, and a good take on premise we’ve seen on several occasions. But every scene was not necessary to the story, and it really made the film drag on. If the run time was closer to a two to two and a half hour window, I think we collectively would’ve accepted what we were given.
[Spoilers ahead to proceed with caution if you care about that sort of thing.]
The next thing I’ll say is that if there is one thing Damien Chazelle can do it’s block and choreograph the hell out of a chaotic, over-populated scene. I could watch them over and over. Every moment draws you in. The grand Hollywood party in the beginning of the film (though party feels like a watered down word for whatever was going on in that house) was busy and over-stimulating, but it perfectly set the tone for what the movie was going to be.
I think with long shots like those, we’re quick to praise (see: me about Mike Flanagan all the time), but there’s a reason for it! Pulling off a shot that’s several minutes long with hundreds of characters and a lot going on (like having a literal, freakin’ ELEPHANT in the room) is hard! It’s complicated! And while the scenes felt a little messy, running through so many groups and so many NSFW moments, it established exactly what it needed to. The mess is intentional, and I think it works here. It’s giving exactly what you’re supposed to be getting.
The other side of that coin is the mess that maybe wasn’t so intentional, which is where I had some issues.. Margot Robbie’s Nellie, Diego Calva’s Manny, and Brad Pitt’s Jack are clearly the main characters. The trailers and the posters tell us as such. While this is true to an extent, I think there is a distinction between who is supposed to have the A plot line and and who gets a B plot line. From watching the film, Manny is the A plot line, and Nellie and Jacke both have B plot lines (Jack arguably should be a C, but I’ll let it go). Manny is the most dynamic character of the three, we follow him the most, and he, in theory, has the strongest arc. In execution, though, his scenes are not as strong or impactful as Nellie’s and Jack’s. They have more to work with, bigger scenes, and overall more drama. Manny, meanwhile, often feels like a bystander in those moments, even though he’s the driver that pushes those other storylines, always in Nellie’s corner and being the problem-solver for Jack. His career is always on an upward trajectory while Nellie’s and Jacks could be sine and cosine graphs. And while Manny and Nellie continue to have a relationship, Jack branches off and, truthfully, I don’t find his arc all that interesting.
I understand that most of the characters in this film are somewhat based on real people in Hollywood history, but that doesn’t change my opinion on Jack’s storyline.
On top of that, I’m not a big Brad Pitt girl. He is a good looking guy, sure, but as a person I’m not a fan. And to be completely honest, in his last several films, I don’t think he’s brought anything groundbreaking or smart or thoughtful. He is giving the same performance every time I’ve seen a film of his lately. Not that his characters are all alike, that’s not what I mean, but he is playing them as if they are mirrors of each other. I can’t differentiate among them, and I’m not interested in watching him on screen. And I think we should leave him be.
Quickly, I’ll say that while Margot Robbie’s NJ accent is very good, and while I love it on her, I think we can let her try something else. We could’ve gone midwestern or something this time and had a similar impact on her character arc in her struggle of going from silent films to talkies. I love, love, love watching her performances, and it seems we’ve leaned into this one a bit too much. She’s a great actress, give her something more!!
Transitioning into Manny’s character, the dreaded third act Tobey Maguire scene, and the concept that this film is about the story of Babylon, I’ve got a few more thoughts. I’ve made plenty of comments (and seen plenty more) online about leaving the theatre during the last thirty minutes of the film. I said to someone the other day, “once you see Tobey onscreen, leave, you don’t need the rest of it.” I am both sticking to that statement and also taking it back.
The bottom line is that, if the film was shorter leading up to that scene, if we hadn’t been watching two and a half hours of this chaos already, that scene would have been the perfect climax. We were all just so exhausted by the time it happened that we didn’t want or need it!
Backing up for a second to anyone who didn’t get this–because when I’ve brought it up in real life, people have looked at me like I’m speaking a different language (which, *stares at you like we’re in The Office)–the film’s theme is about the Tower of Babel. (Right? We can agree that things called “Babylon” with arcs like this are about the Tower of Babel). Biblically, the Tower of Babel story explains diverse language; the people of Babylon wanted to build a tower to heaven, so god muddled their languages so the workers couldn’t understand each other and therefore couldn’t complete the tower. These people wanted to “make a name for themselves” and prove themselves to be high and mighty, and in turn, tried to reach too high. As the Gen Z-ers say: they girlbossed too close to the sun.
This concept is, at a basic level, the perfect metaphor for Hollywood, and these characters are great examples. When you’re reaching out for fame and success and money, nothing is ever enough. There’s never going to be satisfaction, especially with so many vices designed to cause your demise.
Manny is the poster child for a success story. He worked his way up and used his connections wisely. He largely kept his head down, learned, grew, and eventually became the big man on campus. Seems like it’ll all work out for him, right? But once he got to that studio executive level, he sort of became just like the rest of them. For me, he showed big signs of failure when he separated Nellie and Lady Fay Zhu in favor of “saving” Nellie’s career. Not his first morally questionable move, but it goes pretty downhill from there. Like asking Sidney Palmer, a black man, to put on blackface. Manny, my guy, you’re joking. These people trusted you! And now you’re doing this?!
If you didn’t understand the extent of the legend of the Tower of Babel, you could say that yes, this is point of no return. He has turned over to the dark side. You are somewhat right. We, as viewers, can understand that he’s hit his peak and he’s on his downward spiral–something Nellie and Jack have already been on for a while at this point in the movie.
But, oh BUT, it’s not a Tower of Babel-level tipping point. On the surface, even with his piss poor judgment, Manny is still the man. He’s still successful, well-respected, and wealthy. If you’re telling a true metaphor, this isn’t the end of the story, so you can’t end the film here.
It’s the Tobey Maguire meeting and the ensuing Ryan Murphy-esque fever dream that is the real tell of Manny’s fall from grace. It’s seedy and scary and disturbing. I gagged a little, to be honest. It’s this scene where Manny realizes just how deep in shit his decisions have gotten him. So it is, as I said earlier, the perfect climactic moment, we’ve just been through too much by that point to be able to enjoy it. I will also say it might be the most engaging scene in the film, now that I’ve had time to look back on it. But at the time I was sooo over sitting in the theatre that I found it unnecessary.
Lastly, I’d be hard pressed to call this movie a love letter to film. I’d say it’s more about an infatuation with Hollywood. That’s not a criticism, just an observation. But that final little bit where Manny is sitting in the movie theatre, and while he watches, we as an audience go through a mass dump of some of the most classic, iconic, recognizable, critically acclaimed films, all in flashes. For a moment, I could deal with that. For a moment, I understood. But this flip book of films included The Matrix, Avatar, and other films that came out in 1985 or later. It really took me out of the movie because we are not even close to that time period, even with the time jump. I think if we hadn’t ended with a shot back on Manny, but that maybe all the graphics would end on a screen with the film’s title or something (I don’t know, I’m not a filmmaker!), it would have settled better with me as a viewer.
It was a beautiful scene otherwise, though, with the panning around the moviegoers, different kinds of people, all ages. Another long shot that I loved.
I’m still trying to figure out where I stand on this film. I like it, but… Was it good? Was it bad? Does any movie get to be one or the other? It’s all subjective. And I could keep going on and on about different aspects of Babylon that I keep thinking about, whether in a good way or a bad way.
If I had to boil it down, I’d say that parts of the film were amazing: gorgeous scenes, brilliant performances. Oh, and the score was absolutely fantastic! Can’t forget about the music. Magic. Other parts of it fell very short for me. Above all, it made me think a lot. Analyze my thoughts, consider what I love and hate about movies and moviemaking, examine how I look at creatives.
Damien, you did…something. We can all agree on that.