Babylon

 

Babylon (Amazon Prime)

Babylon is a movie of ascent, descent and excesses.  The period is the tipping point for silent movies with the onset of the talkies. Handsome silent screen stars now had to talk and some with Jersey accents.  The silent film industry was at its apex, awashed in money, sex, and drugs, descending into debauchery. Some scenes were excessive and in bad taste. The more colorful sex scenes could have been implied and rather than depicted in technicolor. These drawbacks are the fault of the writer and director who in this case is the same person, Damien Chazelle.

The cast is impressive. Brad Pitt is Jack Conrad a matinée idol in descent. Pitt’s best performance depicts Conrad’s decline. He is a metaphor for the silent screen. Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy who is absolutely manic. She is at her best when she is depressed and paranoid. Some scenes are over the top and instead of being impactful they are cringe worthy. Unlike Jack Conrad she rose from the bottom to the top of stardom, but her descent was the same as his but quicker.

Diego Calva, who plays Manny Torres, gave the best performance. He goes from being a truck driver to being a film executive and down again. He plays the role with passion and without histrionics. He loves Nellie but she is toxic and he suffers.

This is not a religious movie, but there was a resurrection. Eric Roberts, the estranged brother of Julia Roberts, was cast as Nellie’s father. His appearance was brief, but the snake fight scene was hilarious. Jean Smart plays the gossip columnist Elinor St. John. She tried to groom Nellie’s appearance and diction but utterly failed. Tobey Maguire is a brutal sadistic gang boss. It is wonderful to see someone play against type. Even with hideous make up and evil intent, he is still your friendly Spiderman.

This movie cost $80m to make and took in $63m, the price of a bad script and poor directing. Watch it at your own peril.