Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie in front of the cinema screens in Hollywood – does he have what it takes to win the Oscars?

One of the most anticipated contenders for an Oscar, and one of the few to debut before the end of the year, broke last night with Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle’s first screening Babylon. Paramount’s big Christmas release and award-winning Hope chose the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater for its unveiling for entertainment experts, industry members and especially Guild and Oscar voters, a perfect location with both sides of the giant screen presented by the imposing big Oscar Pictures. In addition to the screening, there was a post-film Q&A with Chazelle and stars Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li and Tobey Maguire, followed by a dessert reception in the lobby.

Reviews of the Dec. 23 release are under wraps for at least a month (Paramount hasn’t set an exact date, but doesn’t expect it until mid-December at the earliest), but the studio has encouraged reactions on social media — and it got a mixed reaction on Twitter and instant analysis from award pundits, but from my own unscientific Real Oscar poll voters I spoke (and quite a few were willing to voice their opinion), it was largely an enthusiastic reception for the film, which takes some very big swings. Expect it to cover the range of opinions this season.

The three hour and eight minute film follows the stories of various characters at the top and fringes of Hollywood circa 1926, beginning with the end of the silent film era and just as talkies became all the rage with the debut of Al Jolson’s all-talking film. The jazz singer the following year. Pitt is a great John Gilbert-esque silent star navigating a changing industry and on a downswing with the rise of sound. Robbie is breakthrough Clara Bow, a new star on an uncertain path to coke-party success. Mexican discovery Calva is the real protagonist here, a young man who arrives on the scene, becomes fascinated by both as he watches (and stares a lot at the raucous happenings), and then embarks on his own rollercoaster ride up the Ladder of Success . and all costs to get there.

It’s a long and winding road for all the characters woven in and out of this tapestry, and for Chazelle, who previously appealed to Hollywood dreamers in his Oscar-winning film the country, found rich ground in film history to make a fairly entertaining comedy for at least the first two-thirds, which then takes a dark turn in its final act. “I think the first seed of it was that I had been a film history buff for a while, especially since learning the ins and outs of the early prehistory of Hollywood, the American film industry, and Los Angeles as a city,” the director explained. during the Q&A. “I remember reading about this strange phenomenon in the late 1920s. There was a spate of suicides, deaths that could have been suicides, drug overdoses that were somehow connected to the drug epidemic that was going on at the time, and then delved into the fact that it kind of coincided with a kind of transition that I saw depicted sing in the rain and so on,” he said of the post-silent era, which led to tragedy for many who could not move comfortably into this new age of sonic imagery. He began to observe this type of behavior, which led to much of the recklessness and debauchery that characterized the city of the time. He pointed to DW Griffith’s masterly silence, intolerance as another source of inspiration.

Lots of unhinged, purely orgiastic party scenes complete with piles of cocaine, sex acts, even an elephant and moral breakdown are liberally shown in the first 30 minutes, even before the film’s name title card hits the screen. Considering this was all filmed during the Covid frenzy, the sheer number of background players doing extremely naughty things in the party scenes is impressive. “I thought, thank God, we have some really uninhibited extras in Los Angeles,” laughed Smart, describing the overall “insane” chaos of the scenes. The audience at the Goldwyn seemed to be there from the start, with a few sequences providing plenty of laughs, including a bravura, comic set piece in which Robbie’s character attempts a simple entry into an early talkie makes when everything seems to be falling apart with the sound crew and crew, including a demented director played by PJ Byrne.

Speaking to Academy members afterward, I didn’t find many who weren’t impressed in some way by the sheer artistry, bold story, and “wild ride” the film gave them (“wild” was a word that people have heard a lot). regularly). One producer even went so far as to call it “the most ambitious and best film of the year”. Nothing comes close.” Others weren’t quite as effusive, but I couldn’t find many critics, at least not in the immediate post-coital embrace of Chazelle’s latest film. prospects even predicted that those on the fence wouldn’t be able to get it out of their heads in the morning.

Chazelle has a solid track record at the Academy. Both whiplash and the country won many Oscars, three for the former and six for the latter, while both were nominated for Best Picture. Its most recent, the one from 2018 first man Won an Oscar for visual effects. Without a doubt, the production is here with costume design, production design, camera, editing, sound, make-up and music (by Justin Hurwitz – two-time Oscar winner for the country and a normal Chazelle) could accumulate all nominations. Whether it will break the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay races remains to be seen, but Oscar voters have shown a great love for films about their own industry, so this audience is likely to respond when everyone amount is All you have to do is see the best photo winners The Artist, Argo, Birdman, etc (and almost La La Land).

In terms of potential acting nominations, Robbie has the flashiest role and goes all out. The leading lady is tough this year, but she makes it in an impressive way so she will have supporters. Calva’s Manny builds slowly but eventually comes home. But perhaps the best written and performed scene, at least for me, was between Jean Smart’s dreaded gossip columnist and Pitt’s fading movie star as she brutally tells him the truth about his career. Despite appearing throughout the film, this is the only scene where Smart really gets her moment, and the actress delivers it in chilling fashion. Supporting actress is tough this year, but there may be a place for her. Pitt, this is Once Upon Other Time In Hollywood is truly impressive, understated much of it, but gives a funny, wise and ultimately touching performance that deserves to be back in contention. The studio will offer him for support as it feels like the main character is Calva. By the way, Maguire is really creepy and definitely memorable in his scenes towards the end.

Paramount should be commended for still being a studio willing to get creative with a film like this. They have a long history of supporting films by the company we mentioned Show, especially the film side of things like The Last Tycoon, The Day of the Locust, even the pretty terrible Wen Ton Ton The dog that saved Hollywood. The crown jewel in this “genre” was of course Par’s funny 1950 masterpiece, Sunset Blvd by Billy Wilder. Babylon certainly doesn’t reach its heights, but it’s guaranteed to get you talking.