Damien Chazelle’s new film Babylon is shaping up to be one of the most divisive of the year.
The latest from the director of acclaimed hits Whiplash and La La Land is a three-hour plus epic set in Hollywood.
Many have been expecting the film, which stars Margot Robbie, Diego Calva and Brad Pitt, to be yet another Oscar contender for Chazelle, whose last release was First Man in 2018.
However, going by the first reactions, it seems Babylon could be too divisive to become an awards frontrunner.
Chazelle himself said that the film was inspired by an intriguing mix of films – namely The Godfather, La Dolce Vita and Nashville.
Reactions have stemmed from those in awe of Chazelle’s impressive directing skills to those overwhelmed by the sheer amount the filmmaker tries to cram into the film.
Variety‘s Clayton Davis called Babylon a “high octane, cocaine-inducing trip”, while the same outlet’s Jazz Tangcay described Chazelle’s filmmaking as “phenomenal”.
CheatSheet’s Jeff Nelson said the film us “a daring Hollywood epic that utterly shocks the senses”, with Yahoo!’s Kevin Polowy branding it “truly the strangest, most debaucherous love letter to Hollywood ever”.
The more negative criticisms saw We Live Entertainment’s Scott Menzel call Babylon “an ambitious mess , while AwardsAce’s Erick MMT Weber lambasted it as “a flaming hot mess”.
Many agreed, though, that Robbie was not only the best aprt of the film, but that it’s her best performance to date.
Find both positive and negative reactions to Babylon below.
Babylon will be released in the US on 23 December, and in the UK on 23 January.
Earlier this week, Robbie opened up about the “low moment” she experienced after starring in Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street, and revealed that Disney has officially scrapped a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot she was set to star in.
