Overstuffed train wreck that not even A-list actors can save is Babylon
by Kathia Woods
Many films have been made about the beginnings of the film industry, and the majority of them have been informative and entertaining, but Babylon is not one of them. Damien Chazelle's three-hour over-the-top saga is intended to entice moviegoers and transport them to a time when Hollywood was still wild and carefree, willing to take risks. Unfortunately, the audience is made to suffer through shock for the sake of shock value, and it's not even sexy.
Babylon is about the transition of the film industry from silent to talkies. It stars Brad Pitt as movie heart throb Jack Conrad, Margo Robbie as newcomer Nellie LaRoy, and Diego Calva as Manny Torres, a young Mexican who aspires to join this ragtag group of misfits.
At the start of the movie, young Manny and his pals are helping to carry an elephant to a party that night.
The purpose of the party scene is to show how decadent and lawless society had become at the time. How wild the world of Hollywood was can be gauged in part by their level of mayhem and immorality. A mashup of wealth and extravagance before the advent of social media and the paparazzi.
The scenes are neither startling nor seductive, merely absurd. Li Jun Li's debut as Lady Fay Zhu is a highlight. While donning a top hat and tuxedo, she exudes sexuality and beauty. She was the sole source of illumination in a sea of darkness. At this point, Manny meets Nellie LaRoy (Margo Robbie), who enters the film like a wrecking ball. Manny is smitten with this disorganized mess. It's the start of the road to hell.
Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), a movie star and man of men, is someone he encounters at the same party. He embodies all that Manny wishes to be. Jack, who is completely inebriated, asks the young man to accompany him home and essentially becomes his assistant.
Meanwhile, when one of the young starlets dies, young Nellie gets her chance at stardom as well. Babylon, named after the mayhem or rulelessness that began the film industry, is visually stunning, but that is all it is. "Beautiful gowns," as Aretha Franklin put it.
Let's start with the two main characters. The notion that men of color are obsessed with white women is out of date and simply predictable. Not to mention Nellie is a walking disaster, and the only reason those two could work together is because Manny suffers from the need to be a savior. It's insulting and contributes to the stereotype that men of color see loving a white woman as a means of achieving success when, in reality, she's harmful to every aspect of his being.
Then there's Nellie, the protagonist. Especially after the studio system was implemented, Hollywood was meticulous about presenting their starlets as flawlessly as possible. On set, Nellie LaRoy’s character is unkempt 90% of the time. These are the same studios that forced actresses to change their names, hair color, weight, and even undergo plastic surgery to correct any flaws, especially after talkies became popular.
Bessie Love, the actress, was a young woman who began her career looking a little less refined before becoming polished; we are to believe that once Nellie transitioned to talkies and entered the studio system, she was allowed to appear on screen with that ratty hair nest.
Lady Fay Zhu, modeled after Anna May Wong, is a lesbian. There was a chance to have an honest conversation about what it was like to be a gay woman of Chinese descent trying to work in an industry full of misfits but still very racist. By only hinting at the plot, Chazelle squandered her screen time and talent.
The same goes for Jovan Adepo, who plays jazz trumpeter Sidney Palmer. Black musicians were primarily hired to play in orchestras, and it is true that they were required to wear Blackface for films to be palatable to southern audiences; however, this was handled cavalierly, with no regard for Adepo or highlighting the humiliation Black performers endured.
As bad as all of this is, no one has been treated worse than the incredible Diego Calva. Everything about his character is bad, from how he is humiliated groveling for a plastic seat at the table to how his character's journey ends.
Let's say this character was inspired by Dezi Arnez. Arnez was a man who commanded respect and accomplished a great deal in a system based on white supremacy. Manny literally crawled his way up from nothing to falter because of an unhealthy obsession with a white woman is the height of white arrogance.
One has to wonder if Chazelle is that inept at portraying characters of color with nuance and depth. Is this how he perceives people of color?
That their main goal in life is to achieve whiteness or success by white people's standards. Everything is insulting and narrow-minded. Chazelle had an opportunity to educate and entertain a new generation about the rise of the film industry, but instead gave them a three-hour laboring piece of work.
He is asking audiences to spend their money on a film that adds nothing to the conversation and wastes the talents of Robbie, Pitt, Smart and Calva who deserves so much better.
If younger generations want to learn about the beginnings of Hollywood, they should watch The Artist, LA Confidential, Sunset Blvd, and the original Singing in the Rain instead of Babylon.
Babylon is a heinous crime that will leave you feeling worse than Fireball mixed with Red Bull
Babylon opens in theaters everywhere on December the 23rd
