Babylon. MA15+, 189 minutes. 3 stars
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There's an old joke with many variations that in one form goes like this: a circus worker with a shovel is complaining that he's always knee deep in elephant dung. A passerby says, "Surely you can get a better job than that." The worker replies: "What, and give up show business?!"
The opening scene of writer-director Damien Chazelle's three-hours-plus new film alludes to those mixed feelings of love and hate concerning an industry that has both glamorous and dirty sides. Quite literally, we see an elephant doing its business right into the camera - not the most subtle of metaphors.
It's the late 1920s and Hollywood decadence is at its height. That elephant is being delivered by Hollywood hopeful Manny Torres (Diego Calva) to a big party at the mansion of a Kinoscope Studios executive. In a long, elaborate set piece, this is shown to be a massive orgy, filled with drugs, booze, many different kinds of sex, and even death.
Manny proves his worth, helping to get rid of the corpse - of an actress who died from an overdose - and then driving drunk star Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt) home. Jack is impressed by Manny and invites him to his film set, where the young man proves to have many talents and is soon making his way up the Hollywood ladder.
Also at the party is ambitious would-be starlet Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie). She and Manny make a connection and the flamboyant Nellie also has some good luck, being noticed and chosen to replace the dead actress in a film.
These three are the main characters whose stories - with high peaks and low troughs - are traced over the years.
Cabaret singer and writer Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li) and African-American jazz trumpeter Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo) aren't given as much attention in their arcs, but it might be noted their fates seem less harsh than some of the others.
This film feels like a mix of Singin' in the Rain and Boogie Nights. The title is a nod to Hollywood Babylon, Kenneth Anger's book of sleazy Old-Hollywood gossip, and there's something of that in here too - with many characters reminiscent of real people from the time.
It's a beautifully made film with an excellent cast - familiar faces in supporting roles include Samara Weaving, Tobey Maguire, Lukas Haas, Olivia Wilde and Eric Roberts. And there's certainly plenty happening.
Writer-director Damien Chazelle's previous films - Whiplash and La La Land - also dealt with the highs and lows of talent and the agonies and ecstasies of performing and, in the latter, of Hollywood. The film looks at the cruelty of the film business - as have earlier movies like Sunset Blvd. and The Player - while acknowledging the pleasures it can bring.
Babylon is ambitious but flawed. Some parts work better than others. There's a scene near the end where one of the characters, watching Singin' in the Rain, has a reverie that's like an Oscars montage of movie history - past, present and future. It feels jarringly out of place.
I enjoyed the film a lot, despite its overlength and other weaknesses, but those who aren't as interested in Hollywood history and lore might be less enthralled.
And unlike the sunny Singin' in the Rain, it's certainly a film for adults only.