commentary on babylon (2022)
the public loved it, critics hated it. is it a love letter, or a suicide note? this movie is in every way, divisive even with its message.
babylon, to me, was a fable. introduction, crescendo, climax and a finale with a hopeful message I would say is: hollywood is shit, but it's magical shit. like shit with sprinkles on it, and it's amazing.
it's also a horror tale about hollywood and how it forces people to assimilate into the mess that is in, turning the opressed against eachother, its about the fact that if you're a minority in any way, to have your cake and eat it, you will have to fight for it and the industry won't accept you for who you are anyways, you have to assimilate. then maybe, you can have a piece of cake.
the highs of hollywood have been talked about long enough. with singin' in the rain, the artist, hail caesar, all about eve, the bad and the beautiful and other films highlighting the glamour of the industry we had to get all a film that showed you the sparkly shit I mentioned earlier. there are other films that do critique the hollywood industry, but none has done it as hard as babylon, especially being as bold to shit on very early cinema that has made hollywood what it is today, while also praising it in a realistic manner, mentioning the casting stereotypes people of color were victims of, the judgement against lgbt+ people, the drug filled and rotten teeth filled ambience... everything. all of that still happens, by the way. maybe not in the exact same manner that it did in the 1920s-1950s golden era of hollywood, but it does.
CRITIQUES this movie is at it's best when it takes a heavily gritty satirical tone embalmed in nauseating bodily fluids, and when it gets really really bold with what to show and how to show it. luckily, that is most of the film if not all of it.
tobey maguire's little character adventure he takes us with felt rather unnecessary but it was fun to watch either way.
the soundtrack is what shines the most about this film, I bet the track ''wild child'' would give mozart a heart attack about how great it is.
OVERALL RATING a solid 4.5 stars. 5 on music, 3.5 on storytelling, 5 on editing, 4.5 on dialogue. I'm a babylon defender and enthusiast.
