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Babylon

Babylon

Drama · Comedy · 2022

A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, tracing the rise and fall of multiple characters in an era of unbridled decadence and depravity during Hollywood's transition from silent films to sound films in the late 1920s.

Movie details

Babylon

“Always make a scene.”

2022 Drama · Comedy 3h 9m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, tracing the rise and fall of multiple characters in an era of unbridled decadence and depravity during Hollywood's transition from silent films to sound films in the late 1920s.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Babylon?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Damien Chazelle

Written by

Damien Chazelle

Diego Calva

Diego Calva

Manny Torres

Margot Robbie

Margot Robbie

Nellie LaRoy

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt

Jack Conrad

Jovan Adepo

Jovan Adepo

Sidney Palmer

Jean Smart

Jean Smart

Elinor St. John

J.C. Currais

J.C. Currais

Truck Driver

Jimmy Ortega

Jimmy Ortega

Elephant Wrangler

Court is in session

Put Babylon on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.