Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Babylon 

This is one of the of the craziest, well acted and balls to the walls films I’ve seen all year! Damien Chazelle delivers a film that feels like the craziness of Wolf Of Wall Street meets the glamour of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Now this film will divide people for sure due to its extreme approach to its narrative. Now for me I loved this film I think it’s one of his strongest and definitely his most ambitious film yet. The scope of this film is insane and the talent is fantastic as the performances by Margot Robbie Brad Pitt and new comer Diego Calva is amazing. 

Firstly, The way this story unfolds is is shockingly good. As this is a 3 hour long tale and some may complain but it’s lengthy runtime and to be fair their are some scenes that could of trimmed the runtime to shorten it to 2h and 50 minutes as their are some scenes that should of been lengthened and some unnecessary scenes that were longer then should of been. That’s one of the few flaws I had with the film. But besides that you are so engaged in the craziness and debauchery of what’s happening in front of you that the runtime you barley notice I felt it flew by as the fast paced editing and style of it all will have your jaw firmly on the floor. As Damien Chazalle goes places stylistically that I was stunned by as there are some very graphic imagery from gross out humour to sexual content that may disengage people from what he’s trying to say. As what got my attention from it all was he is tackling the transition period in Hollywood when it shifted from the silent era of filmmaking to the talkies and how difficult it was for a lot of people within the industry to switch over to that new medium. Now we constantly hear how clean and respectful the silent era was so to have Damien Chazelle say that it was all sleazy and sex crazed parties is an interesting take on it. And he doesn’t let the style overtake the substance because the heart of the story is about two up and coming stars played by Margot Robbie and Diego Cilva who want to make a dent within the industry. Then you have Brad Pitt’s character who has been in the game for a long time that is struggling to hold on to his image while that transition in Hollywood happens and that is the heart of the film is the theme of legacy and making a impact trying to be remembered. It’s a message that I felt didn’t get lost in the over the top editing of it all some may say it did but the story is told with such heart and passion you can see Damien trying to express something that’s unlike anything he’s done before and I respect him for that and narratively I never felt bored or exhausted by the excess this film shows I enjoyed the ride he takes you on as it’s a true treat for fans of filmmaking and anyone who dreams of seeing their names in the stars. Stylistically it’s incredible and narratively it’s very well told. 

Secondly, the performances in the film is amazing! Margot Robbie steals the show with what I think may be her best performance of her career as of right now. She plays this firecracker personality  that will do anything to be the talk of the town and the way Margot plays her is comedic at times and emotionally tragic all mixed in one resulting in a truly special performance. Brad Pitt plays Jack Conrad an aging movie star and wow is he incredible in this film. He has this charismatic personality but as the film progresses and the layers of him peel back you see how sensitive he is to criticism and Pitt wears his heart on his sleeve in what I think is his best performance of his career. Then you have newcomer Diego Calva who holds his own to Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt in a breakout performance that blew me away. He isn’t playing a small role here he is dead centre as the lead of this movie and he carry’s it with an emotionally charged performance that impressed the hell out of me. I cannot wait to see what he does next because his work in this film is amazing. The performances from everyone involved is solid but it’s the work from the three main actors  that steals the show. 

Lastly, Babylon is one of the most shocking, well acted and stylistic films I’ve seen all year. Damien Chazelle shows the sleazy, high and lows of the film industry while tapping into very emotional themes of being remembered. The film has comedy but it never leans to much into it the drama and comedy compliment each other very well resulting in a hell of a tale with some truly spectacular performances from its cast. This film will piss a lot of industry insiders off but I appreciate Damien pushing how far he could take this story and i recommend seeing this in a theatre you won’t regret it as it’s one of the best films I’ve seen all year. 

This film tells the tale from the silent film era to the transition of the talkies and how hard it was for people to successfully cross over. 

Rated R : Drug Use|Bloody Violence|Graphic Nudity|Pervasive Language|Strong & Crude Sexual Content

Margot Robbie : Robbie delivers the best performance of her career as of right now! She plays Nellie LaRoy who is this firecracker that has a colourful personality you cannot help but be drawn into the moment you see her. She oozes charisma and sexual playfulness through her interactions with the people she comes across at first. Once we spend more time with her we see how emotionally hurt she is by anyone questioning her place in the industry as she wants to be the biggest star and in order for her to accomplish that she needs to believe she is. So she walks around with this bigger then life persona but when she has moments alone she is quiet a tragic person because once she breaks into the movies it hasn’t become talkies yet so a lot of her success is accomplished through her stunning good looks and charming wit that gets her known. Once they move into talking pictures she hits a creative wall and an emotional rut she has a tough time pulling herself out of. As she needs to prove to people she wasn’t a actress of the moment but can be adaptive to whatever comes her way and even though she says she can accomplish what she says doing it is a whole other thing. Margot Robbie lures you in with that flirtatious fun image we see of her at first and then as I mentioned as the film goes on and we see her show her heart for how it is we see the sheer depth she goes with this character and it’s staggering. She is able to walk a line of comedy and drama incredibly well as she does inject quite a lot of comedy into her performance but it never other throws the dramatic elements of her performance either. As she is able to time her comedy in a way that is smartly placed and intertwine comedy with her dramatic moments as when she is showing the smaller more emotional parts of her heart you are moved by what she’s showing onscreen and it’s all due to the juicy role she was given and she takes it head on with such fun but also showing a sad Person behind that fun image she gives out. Margot Robbie soars in a performance that is both comedically brilliant and dramatically tragic all at once in what I think is a career best performance of hers up to right now as she’s truly electric and carry’s this film on her shoulders and she dominates the screen with a scene stealing performance. 

Brad Pitt : Brad delivers a career best performance as Jack Conrad a aged movie star who is barley holding onto his reputation. If you think about it he is playing the role Dicaprio played in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood but set in the 1920’s now it’s not a copy of that performance by any means it’s just a similarity I noticed in both of those characters as Brad is outstanding as this charming but also very sensitive movie star. He’s been in the film industry for a long time and at first glance seems to have a good hold on things around him but one thing he can’t grasp is change as for him it’s a sink or swim situation when audio comes into the movies. Brad owns the screen with his charming personality that he always wins the audience over with but he like Robbie’s character the only way to his heart is through criticism as theirs a great arc he goes on. As by the first hour he knows that the roles he is taking is not of great quality but he does it anyway because he knows he can sell a film purely off his great reputation he’s built off the many years of his great acclaimed silent films. But once we get into the second hour of the film we see that Hollywood is purely just keeping him around as a laughing stock only thing is it takes him a long time to realize that notion and when he does it’s heartbreaking. He struggles with accepting that fact and his agent shines a light on that subject in a very honest way that he listens to without using any wit or charm to lighten the mood because he knows what she says is what he feared he would eventually hear one day and once he does he cannot fathom that after all the years he put into the industry that he has resorted to be given bit parts in horrible quality films. Brad presents that sensitive part of his heart in such a raw vulnerability that will stun you as Brad yes has done a ton of dramatic roles over the course of his career but in some ways he can relate to the problems this character goes through so quite a lot of the heavy emotion dose not have to be acted as he’s probably heard some of what his character was told at one point. Theirs a sense of genuine emotion that comes across him in the last act of this film that hits you in the heart. Every word he speaks hits with a impact because you can feel the denial and emotion from every word that lingers off his lips and that’s the great complexity of the performance is he was so charming in the first half but that fades over time when he sees how he has been getting treated and once he shows his heart you cannot help but feel for him it’s tragic and Brad Pitt delivers one of his most vulnerable but also complex performances he’s ever put to screen in what I think is the best work of his career he truly is outstanding. 

Diego Calva : Calva delivers an amazing breakout performance that will impress the hell out of you! Diego Calva had no acting experience in a Hollywood film prior to this film so the fact Damien Chazelle picked him for the lead of this film is no easy task especially for your first movie. As he had the talents of Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie for his co - stars and that would be intimidating for anyone let alone your first ever acting gig that must be terrifying. He rises to the task and delivers a insanely good leading performance and once you see it you’ll be surprised it’s a breakout performance as how natural he is onscreen makes you think he’s been acting for years. As he plays an immigrant who loves the movies and wants to make his mark in the film business and with the help of Nelly LaRoy he first starts off as a assistant on set driving Brad Pitt’s character to set and slowly climbs the ranks to become a powerful film producer calling the shots and that progression to fame he has over the course of the film is amazingly well performed by Diego as that rags to riches story not only shows his acting abilities off in extremely strong ways but we see how great of a emotional range he has and the depths of hell this man goes through. As at first his golden ticket yes was Margot Robbie’s character who helped him get his foot in the door and by the final hour of the film she is his downfall creatively in the industry along with his reputation he fought tooth and nail to have. But to the burden she comes to him he still helps her out because both of them are the only friends they have is each other and even though she gets him in quite the mess deep in his heart he knows he will help her due to what she’s also done for him. The way Diego plays it is captivating as you see the total awe he feels when going on set for the first time and the burning passion inside of him itching to come out and burst his creative ideas on the big screen. That passion and drive you can see through his speech and eyes he’s very emotive but once he goes through the ringer that is the film industry the stress and criticism he faces builds and builds and once Margot Robbie’s character comes over in tears begging for help all that built up anger and stress he takes out on her in a terrifying but understandable showcase of anger and emotion that feels so real. As when he’s screaming on the top of his lungs that his reputation is tarnished you believe him as he’s putting his blood sweat and tears into every move he makes in his business moves because he knows where he started and how hard it was to get in the door and refuses to go back to the hardships he was in before but he also is humble and dose not abuse the power he gets once he works hard for it. The amount of emotional grit he shows through this character is amazing and Diego Calva knocks it out of the park with this layered and Passionate character you are rooting for all the way through and he’s amazing in the film and I cannot wait to see what he does next because his work in this film will definitely make people sit up and take notice of him as he’s outstanding here. 

Damien Chazalle : Damien dazzles the screen with the total balls to the walls nature of this story! Now I think this guy is one of the most important directors working today from Whiplash to now he’s made quite the name for himself. As here he definitely has crafted his biggest film in terms of scope and storytelling as his take on the silent film era I find to be incredibly engaging to watch. This film has divided so many people some calling it a flat out flop with zero personality and some calling it the best film he’s ever done and that kind of a divisive nature intrigued me as that was the reaction it got a few months ago. I disagree highly with the people who say this film has zero personality and that the direction gets lost in the style of it. He has a lot to say about the industry and the workings of how it operates from a golden era of film which a lot of people think was a clean and very respectable time for filmmaking and to have a director who wants to show that the producers were sleazy and the only way to get in was to act prim and proper and the aging movie stars were on the way out by the time talkies came in is a very interesting take. He shows the excess for sure and when it’s high and crazed my god does he show it theirs a big party that opens this movie up and wow their are some truly shocking and bombastic imagery that made me laugh but stunned the hell out of Me. While the music is popping off your seeing total absurd things happening and a lot of filmmakers would not go in the direction Damien went with this movie but I respect him for also trying something different and going places he’s never explored before. As a lot of his other films have been about music as whiplash was and La La Land sure was about actors but was also very much driven by its music as here it’s all commentary on filmmaking and the tragic nature of something you love so much can destroy you. The over the top craze of the movie isn’t what drives the story because by the second act of the film it shifts gears into very drama heavy territory that will move you and gives the actors their moment to show off the more serious aspects of their fun characters. Damien as I mentioned shows the highs and lows of the film industry and the sheer hardship one goes through just to get their foot in and try to keep the reputation they have build only for it to vanish in a flash and he is known for having very beautifully poetic endings to his films and how he ends this film is very ambitious. Many people either will love it or hate it but either way this film will be deconstructed and talked about for years to come as he balances the comedy and drama very well and it explodes in this fantastic glitz of Hollywood but also the darkness of it too and I think it’s a truly well directed film by Damien and you can see the raw passion he put into every part of this film he did an amazing job.