I’m sitting here at midnight, just after coming back from seeing Babylon at the cinema in Leeds, and what can I say other than that I am in shock. The filming, the colour and the music was spectacular. The film made me feel every emotion, from laughter to gripping my chair in angst and covering my mouth in disgust. The film focused on the rise and fall of Hollywood actors, and what happened to them during the 1920s when movies changed from silence to sound. It was directed by Damien Chazelle, who also directed blockbusters such as Whiplash and La La Land, and therefore it had the same electric buzz and busyness to the speed of the filming and the signature eccentric jazz music.
Stars included Margot Robbie, who did an excellent job at playing one of the main characters, an actress and a drug addict who was always high and doing something reckless. The lead actor was actually less well-known, or at least he was to me anyway – it was Mexican actor Diego Calva, who was subsequently nominated for Best Actor at the Golden Globe Awards for his role in Babylon. Brad Pitt was another famous name who played a main part he must’ve known inside out – an actor in Hollywood films who, due to his age, was nearing the end of his career. Other famous names included Tobey Maguire, our all-time favourite Spider-man, who played a criminal, psychotic gangster boss. I definitely felt that this part of the film went rather off the rails, and that Tobey Maguire was an unnecessary cameo to add to a scene which I felt was already too exaggerated for public viewing. This particular part held scenes of a sexual nature which were disturbing, crude and outrageous. These were the scenes I was closing my eyes for, wishing so strongly not to be in the room.
The film as a whole had continuous nudity and drug-usage in almost every scene, which was perhaps to present the reality of the many actors’ lives when they are at the peak of fame and then in the all-too-common downfall. However, I felt that the usage of drugs was quite excessive and somewhat glamourised a serious and deadly issue by turning it into a theatrical mayhem for the viewers’ enjoyment. Babylon did however subtly address other pertinent issues such as racism, through its depiction of a jazz player made famous on the saxophone, who was subjected to racial discrimination when placed under the spotlight. I will commend the film for highlighting an issue in the 1920s which is unfortunately still prevalent in society today.
The film ended with the music increasing in volume, filled with uncontrollable jazz at notes that shouldn’t be heard. The images flashing on the screen were no longer from the film I came to see, but were glimpses of clips from the 1920s when this film was set. It showed the growth of the film industry through time, including many other cinematic masterpieces such as Jurassic Park and Avatar. By the end, I felt as though I had been taught a very blunt, forceful yet vibrant message about the film industry which was that when the stars we watch on our screens become just another famous face from the past, us viewers tend to forget them and how detrimental this is to their mental health. Babylon teaches viewers the downsides of being a successful actor with a significant one being the dream chased by many: the uncontrollable, dangerous, and ferocious lifestyle of the rich.
What then is my conclusion, you may ask? As a media student, I thoroughly enjoyed the quality of the filming and the singular shots combining different elements of the storyline into one. It is not all the time that a film succeeds in making you grip your seat in anticipation and gasp with disbelief, and so for that I shall praise the writers for allowing me to experience that. However, some of the scenes that they used to create this effect were certainly not for the faint of heart. They were crude, dark and caught me completely off-guard. My course-mates and I agreed that we would actually not recommend Babylon to a friend. While I understand the effect that Chazelle seeked to create and which he was unquestionably successful at, with such harsh and upsetting scenes, I am forced to question whether scenes of this nature were truly necessary to tell this rather unusual yet gripping tale.
Written by: Madeleine Brooks
Edited by: Harsheni Maniarasan