Babylon

Yesterday Sean and I went to the Broadway to see Babylon and it was certainly entertaining!  Manuel "Manny" Torres (Diego Calva), an aspiring filmmaker working various jobs on the periphery of the silent film industry during the Roaring Twenties, observes the rise and fall of several people, including the oft-divorced matinee idol Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), the self-destructive starlet Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), the gossip columnist Elinor St. John (Jean Smart), the Jazz musician Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo), and the exotic cabaret singer Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li), during the transition to "talkies."  When Manny returns to Hollywood years later and watches a screening of Singin' in the Rain (there are so many fun references to this movie), he is reminded of his past and realizes that he and everyone else making movies during the silent era had an impact.  Even though some of them go on much longer than they need to, I really loved all of the chaotic energy in the scenes showing the decadence and debauchery of the time (it was, however, a bit embarrassing to watch some of these scenes with my nephew).  There are also some absolutely brilliant sequences, such as the filming of an elaborate action shot involving hundreds of extras on location as well as a director trying to get the sound just right in take after take, and a profound monologue delivered by Smart about the fleeting nature but lasting legacy of fame.  Pitt gives one of the best performances of his career, Robbie is absolutely dazzling, Tobey Maguire is unsettling as a gangster, and Calva is definitely a compelling presence.  The images on the screen are alternately gorgeous and grotesque (an elephant defecating and some projectile vomiting) but never boring and the score by Justin Hurwitz is fantastic.  It is too long and the subject matter will not be for everyone but I enjoyed it (so did Sean) and recommend it to cinephiles.