screen |skr_n| |skrin| |skri_n| noun • a blank, typically white or silver surface on which a photographic image is projected : the world's largest movie screen • movies or television; the motion-picture industry : she's a star of the stage as well as the screen. verb [ trans. ] • protect (someone) from something dangerous or unpleasant • evaluate or analyze (something) for its suitability for a particular purpose or application
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Babylon
In the opening minutes of this 3-hour head-trip, an elephant being transported to an orgy poops all over two men. Then, soon afterwards, there’s the orgy. This is not subtle. It’s like it’s written by Hunter S. Thompson and directed by Baz Luhrman - but with super-long takes instead of lightning-quick cuts. I appreciate ambition, and I appreciate chaos, but there’s a fine line between these and self-indulgence, and it’s hard to tell the difference in this. It’s beautifully designed, and continuously watchable, despite all the pooping and barfing. The point of the entire thing, it seems, is to juxtapose three different results for trying to “make it” in Hollywood. Succeed and weep tears of joy with your success, smile and keep trying, and kill yourself. Damien Chazelle has an eye, for sure, but the story must matter more than the dog-and-pony show. So he might benefit more from being reined-in a little (see: Whiplash). Moments of how dangerous and chaotic the early days of filming were are played for comedy, but I bet there were some normal, non-orgy-goers helping, too.
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