Opening in 1926 and finishing in 1952 Babylon tells the stories of a number of people within Hollywood as the burgeoning art form of film came to terms with the advent of “talkies”. However the tone and focus is less on reverence and prestige and more on cacophonous humour and uncontrolled hedonism. 

Our leading characters are a mixture of hopefuls on the way up, successes on the way down and also-rans. Manny Torres (Diego Calva) is a helper for studio execs who has never made his way onto a film set, whilst Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) is a star who has not been discovered yet. They meet at a Hollywood party and their rise to the top is intertwined with each other. Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt) is a star of the silent era who runs through wives nearly as fast as his liquor. Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo) is a jazz player who finds his skills in demand on sets whilst Lady Fay (Li Jun Li) finds her skills of inter-title writing are no longer needed. All the while gossip columnist Elinor St. John (Jean Smart) watches from the sidelines. 

The film opens in an absolute whirlwind and does not let up for quite some time. The opening segment takes in Manny transporting an elephant to a party and him meeting the as yet unknown Nellie. The party is a debauched affair with a buffet of drugs and alcohol and famous faces everywhere. A touch of serendipity results in both Manny and Nellie finding their way onto a film set the next day. The following segment might just be the best of the entire film. A day in the life on a film set with both Manny and Nellie using their talent and drive to kickstart their careers. Manny races to find a camera to allow a director to capture the setting sun golden hour and Nellie shows her command of a single tear for a cameo scene.

At this point we are off on a wild ride through the Hollywood golden age. Writer/director Damien Chazelle as with many other directors clearly loves the history of film. But his ode to the era is irreverent and funny as well as being loving. 

Chazelle’s regular composer collaborator Justin Hurwitz has produced a superlative and stunning score. As usual it is jazz focused but this time it is propulsive and energetic as the coke addled actors on screen. It also features some undercurrents of his famous La La Land score, another of Chazelle’s films about film. 

The acting honours go to newcomer Diego Calva who is the heart of the film. A man as obsessed with film as Chazelle and who rides the ups and downs with relative pragmatism. Robbie plays extremely manic whilst Pitt is worldly wise as a man who has seen it all before. 

There are issues. The characters of Sidney Palmer and Lady Fay are interesting but underwritten and their links to the overall plot tenuous other than as extra flavour. Whilst the introduction of Tobey Maguire later in the film nearly derails it. He gives a brilliant performance as a deranged loan shark but the places his character takes the story again feel slightly at odds with the overall message. Whilst the ending is a huge swing from Chazelle that I absolutely guarantee will polarise opinion.

Honestly though, I loved it. It is 189 minutes of absolute bedlam. Incredibly funny and a break neck ride through a heightened version of Hollywood’s golden era.