The year is coming to an end, but the movie releases apparently not, in this case, a highly anticipated movie came out with many globally recognized actors. It is definitely Babylon, the movie directed by Damien Chazelle who also directed La La Land and Whiplash. The film was released on December 15 in Los Angeles but will hit theaters in the United States on December 23 and in Europe on January 20, 2023. The movie has been highly mentioned by both the public and critics, mentioning that the movie has had mixed reviews. Babylon is nominated at the 80th Golden Globes Awards including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Babylon is set in 1920 in Los Angeles, aspiring filmmaker Manuel “Manny” Torres works odd jobs peripheral to the burgeoning silent film industry. He helps secure the transport of an elephant to a bacchanalian party at Kinoscope Studios executive Don Wallach’s mansion, where he crosses paths with Nellie LaRoy, a brash and ambitious aspiring starlet from New Jersey. Also attending the party are cabaret performer Fay Zhu, and African-American trumpet player Sidney Palmer. Manny and Nellie spend most of the evening together before Nellie is spotted at the party and swiftly recruited to appear in one of the films for Wallach’s studio.
Babylon cast is formed by:
- Brad Pitt as Jack Conrad, a popular silent film star.
- Margot Robbie as Nellie LaRoy, an aspiring actress and Manny’s love interest.
- Diego Calva as Manuel “Manny” Torres a Mexican-American film assistant who wants to become a film star.
- Jean Smart as Elinor St. John, a sensasionalist journalist
- Jovan Adepo as Sidney Palmes, a jazz trumpet player
- Li Jun Li as Lady Fay Zhu, a Chinese-American cabaret singer.
- Tobey Maguire as James McKay, a mob boss.
- Lukas Hass as George Munn, a film producer.
- Max Minghella as Irving Thalberg, a studio executive.
- Samara Weaving as Constance Moore, a rival actress to Nellie.
- Katherine Waterson as Estelle Conrad, a stage actress.
- Olivia Wilde as Ina Conrad, Jack’s ex-wife.
- Jeff Garlin as Don Wallach, a studio executive.
It is important to highlight Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie who are known worldwide and have been part of film projects that have been nominated for the Oscars. Pitt has also won this award several times. Robbie has participated in films like The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), I, Tonya (2017) and soon she will the main character of the upcoming Barbie film. On the other hand, Pitt was part of Fight Club (1999), and Seven (1995), and both stars have worked together in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019).
Babylon received mixed reviews from different websites, starting with the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film scored 57% out of 100% based on 162 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5710. Rotten Tomatoes’ consensus says “Babylon’s overwhelming muchness is exhausting, but much like the industry it honors, its well-acted, well-crafted glitz and glamour can often be an effective distraction”.
On Metacritic, Babylon has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 45 critics, most of them being favorable reviews.
Andrea Rich