Babylon - 3 nominations

 

Best Achievement in Production Design Florencia Martin Anthony Carlino

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) Justin Hurwitz

Best Achievement in Costume Design Mary Zophres

Babylon begins with an epic, lavish, over the top party filled with debauchery, drugs, and indecency (in maybe the best way?). At this party are Hollywood's elite and here comes young Nellie who arrives proclaiming herself to be a star and befriending Manny who is managing the craziness of the event. (No, really, he brings an elephant that the host requested... though I could have lived a full life without watching the scene where the elephant takes a giant crap right in Manny's face). The party scene is electric (and frankly is responsible for the Production Design nomination) and it is here where we meet most of the key characters. There is Lady Fay Zhu - a lesbian cabaret singer, Sidney Palmer - a jazz trumpeter, Jack Conrad - a huge star (who helps Manny get a PA job), and Elinor St. John - a gossip columnist who follows all of their careers.  Each goes up and down the ladder of success as movies go from silent to talkies, and each fares differently as time goes on.  Manny's career soars as he rises through the ranks all the way to Director and Producer.  Interestingly, there are many references to the film Singing in the Rain, which also captures that silent to talkie transition period.  As the film goes on, the story goes from light to very very dark, with very few happy endings.

There are three standout moments of the film.  First, there are two distinct monologues about the beauty and power of the movies.  As a movie lover, these two monologues were the highlights of a film that desperately needed a more disciplined editor and director. Second, at the very end of the movie, there is a montage reel having little to do with the story that is pure appreciation and adoration for the movies with moments from across the decades (including a shot of the first Avatar whose sequel coincidentally opened the same weekend as Babylon) that was inspiring and joyful but hardly worth the wait.  This movie is the tale of two halves - a first half that was fantastic to watch, and the second half which lost the plot and frankly, the viewer.  If you haven't already watched this 3 hour epic, I would recommend giving it a skip... but do check out the costumes online, THEY deserve the nomination.