Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon”: A Review After two critically acclaimed films winning mainstream attention, Damian Chazelle is back with a depiction of the 1920s film industry in Babylon (2022). It’s three hours, intentionally obscene, and already being panned by critics. Many are noting its self-awareness as a Hollywood-on-Hollywood movie, inviting its cast and audience to go along for the ride. It’s an inside joke being shared with a new generation of critics that is increasingly aware of the industry’s shortcomings, scandals and artistic decline. But Chazelle does not fully condemn the chaotic atmosphere. He finds a romantic side to it that coincides with its decadent counterpart. Babylon shows the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Babylon is also about showing people the beginning...