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Margot Robbie. © 2022. Paramount Pictures, Marc Platt Productions, C2 Motion Picture Group, Wild Chickens Productions, and Organism Pictures. Directed by Damien Chazelle.
Relive the Golden Age of Hollywood As a Drug Ride.
If The Wolf of Wall Street and La La Land had a baby, this is their son that will carry contemporary cinema. This is a wild fuckfest of a ride from start to finish. It's what every filmmaker and cinephile wants. But mostly for cinephiles since The Fabelmans is for filmmakers. But as a filmmaker, I was floored by the atmosphere and scope of this film. I wish they could've released it in IMAX because there are so many scenes that are big and wild. This is a film that audiences will definitely be divided but I can tell you this. This is the film that you should end 2022 with. Get loud and make movies! That's what this film is trying to message across but it's deeper than that. I thought Whiplash was a terrifying masterful film, but this is Damien Chazelle's craziest film yet. Join me into the 1920s and let's party and make films till we get killed, criticized, and lose the magic of Hollywood. Story: An original epic set in 1920s Los Angeles, A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood. Let's start with the elephant in the room. Only if you have seen the film, you would understand it. The edgy and absurd content in the film. It was needed to get the message across the room while not pushing it right in front of our faces. Well, maybe a little bit too hard during one sequence. This film is insane with its directed sequences. The opening scene alone already teases the madness it will happen during the movie. When the madness begins, it will be nonstop, even during the slower scenes. It's a mindfuck for every cinephile and filmmaker. It will make you laugh, look away, disgusted, and by the end, you want to experience it again like it's the first time. It's a rollercoaster ride that will stop at a specific moment but you are enjoying the chaos of the filmmaking and parties that potentially happen in real-life Hollywood. I don't know if that's true but that's how Hollywood people are. Going back to the first party, it's a wild fucking ride with everything going on at the same time. This sequence alone will be the many sequences that will make you go crazy as fuck. It's beautifully memorizing with the camera work and performances that everyone gives out. I love how it captures the celebration of cinema while showing how filmmakers are during the 1920s. They love to party and while it may not be accurate, it sure feels like we were part of this glorious rich party. The other party sequences are wild as well but nothing is compared to the filmmaking parts of the film. The actual "filmmaking" scenes in the film are perfect and that is the kind of set I want to be a part of in the future after I graduate from film school. Before we get to the actual filmmaking behind this film, let me, deep dive, into the "filmmaking" scenes in Babylon and the craziness behind it. It spans within three scenes and multiple sequences that showcase the madness of filmmaking in the 1920s and 1930s. The first chapter in this film is in-fucking-sane. It showcases the madness of making a silent film with all productions simultaneously. The Kinoscope studio area is a fucking mess and the way it was directed shows how these filmmakers are competing for glory and fame in Hollywood. Not only that, with the performances from these "directors", show how crazy they are to make their film a masterpiece and fighting for natural lighting. I feel the director who flighted for natural lighting in his war epic film. I love how Diego Calva's character Manuel has to drive for a new camera before the sun is gone. It's a hilarious sequence and the casual madness while the executives and the producer/lead actor tries to give a phone call is brilliant and hilarious. It shows how the executives are moving on to the next project while the project they funded and pre-produced is in flames and it's all over the place. The other sequences are set within sound stages but it shows how difficult making sound films are since you need a precise sound to capture with the image at the same time. One sequence showcases the madness of getting the right sound and not fucking it up but they fuck it up like 7 times to get the right scene. It's pretty fucking hilarious but there is one moment during those sequences that handle the social commentary very well in this moment and throughout the film. I don't hear enough talk about the social commentary in the film and it's a very important aspect that director Damien Chazelle handled well. As a first-generation Mexican-American filmmaker, Diego Calva's character really hit out of the ballpark and his performance is outstanding. Diego Calva is definitely the breakout actor of this year and his passion for filmmaking hits home so well. He was treated like some stranger in the beginning but with Brad Pitt's character Jack Conrad, he helped him in becoming the best and be a part of the film industry. Manuel's Spanish jokes are hilarious, especially during a breakdown scene that doesn't show translation and it was so hilarious. The ending, without any spoilers, really shows that anyone can make a difference. It's a tragic yet heartwarming ending for Manuel and I felt the emotions that Manuel had. He's just a Mexican trying to find a fit in the United States and as a Mexican-American, I felt this way. It's heartbreaking yet heartwarming at the same time. We want to be a part of something bigger and make an impact on this industry. That is my goal as a filmmaker and I want to take part in critic circles and work as an assistant director or PA in a short or feature film. It's literally my dream and I feel like Manuel throughout the whole film. There is one other character named Sydney Palmer played by Jovan Adepo and his performance was very great. While he isn't much in the film, we get to have moments that connect to his character on how he transforms from just a party trumpet person to acting in his own film. But also we get to see some depictions of racism in the film, especially in one moment in the film while he films his own film. It's pretty sensitive material and it shows how Hollywood can be racist and with Adepo's performance, it makes the moment raw and real. With little cuts, it shows the struggle of being a black actor on stage in the 30s, and in the end, we rethink with the character together and think "was it worth it" in relation to ethnicity and race. It's an interesting question and it asks life questions that affect each character's fate in the end and well, it's not a happy ending for sure if you guess by the atmosphere of this film. No spoilers obviously but it's pretty fucked up. What's more fucked up is that we haven't got to the performances and production of this film. They are all fantastic within each department and I can smell an Oscar from miles away.
The cast is mixed with established and newcomers; all of them did stupendously. I really loved Brad Pitt's performance in this film. He's the crazy one who just wants all the fame but doesn't understand the consequences in Hollywood. His character Jack is powerful and he's the type of friend that you want to hang out making movies and be your business partner. I really loved his performance but the stand out in the film is Margot Robbie. This is honestly her best performance in her career so far. I haven't seen I, Tonya and Bombshell yet so I can't really say this is her definitive performance but I feel like it is. She really gave her all out in this film and it's pretty intense. The one scene in which she acted for the first time was pretty powerful and shows how acting is done. But her character is so well written from her young party life to this legacy star in Hollywood. It's the same thing for Diego Calva's character Manny. Calva gives a fantastic performance with his character and as I said in his mini analysis of his character, he brought out the struggles of being a Mexican-American to the Hollywood landscape and being a part of something bigger. I hope we get to see more of Diego Calva in bigger roles because he's a fantastic actor. I love seeing Mexican actors being big in Hollywood. Jovan Adepo as Sydney Palmer is also very great and all of the other supporting actors did very great in the film. Everyone got their moment with their rise, peak, and downfall. It was nice to see Tobey Maguire in a big Hollywood film that isn't Marvel again. He was really creepy and funny in this film. It's mostly a cameo scene but he is still very funny. Man, even the actor who played the AD which is P. J. Byrne did a surprising performance as the AD of a sound film. He really became the scariest AD and I'm totally buying it. The cast overall is fantastic and everyone had their moment to shine, especially Diego Calva. What I really loved about the writing of these characters is everyone with their rise, peak, and downfall into the sound era. I don't care what critics say about not having enough character development or contemporary shit. This writing works for this type of film with chaos and energy. It's legit creative and astonishing in how it works. It feels Tarantino-ish and I love it! Last but not least, is the production itself.
The production of this film is outstanding and beautiful. I cannot begin without saying about the cinematography of this film. It's beautiful and colorful with every color popping out with blue and orange being the main focus of this film. There are a lot of long takes that make the scene more crazier or dramatic. The lighting in this film is absolutely amazing and I love the handheld sequences in the film. The iconic pan style from Chazelle is present and it's still amazing. He loves to get up close with all the performances and get a lot of wide shots in the film. It's beautiful and it shows the scope and scale of this masterful film. The production design film is fantastic. I love the designs of the houses and the party props. The cars look sexy and the sound stages are well sound stages but from the 1930s. They really amped up the production of this film. The costumes are very great in this film and colorful. The editing is very amped up and I love how it sets its moments with its insanity. A lot of long shots and I like long shots that have a purpose to them. A lot of interesting editing picks with the ending of the film and it goes full on Wolf of Wall Street during the party and filmmaking scenes. Sound Design and Mix are amazing. The score is very memorable and its theme score is going to be iconic in the upcoming years. It's a score that I will hear at parties very soon. Man, I just want to hear that score just to be pumped up. It's too fucking good man. I hope it wins Best Score. The directing in this film...it's outstanding at every level. The storytelling that Chazelle delivers is amazing and the camera direction is fucking insane. He brings every intensity level from every department into a crazy shit fest. The scope is present every second and Chazelle delivers with his jazz music and style. His directing with actors is flawless and he's one of the filmmakers that I look up to and am inspired by. I hope he brings another film that has energy but is filled with drama and emotional tension. This film may not be for everyone which is expected. There is a lot of graphic content that will make audiences look away. Some scenes will confuse audiences and lose the characters in their journey in some parts. It's a densely written film by its screenplay but it's easier to follow once you got used to the chaos in the film. Plus, if you don't like long movies, this can be long. Not draggy, but long. But still, this is a film that will entertain you and if it does, well, you are in for a treat. What a wild ride with this film review and the film itself. It's a beautiful mess of a film that has heart, blood, and tears into this project. It's a love letter to Hollywood while exposing Hollywood for being dumb as fuck and spending money like it's v-bucks. It's a wild ride from start to finish. The directing is outstanding and it's already one of the best films of all time. I'm not kidding. It is one of the best films of all time. Something about it in the upcoming years, people will praise this film and I'm one of the OGs who praised it in the beginning. Please go watch this film. It's original and bombastic. You will have a fun time at the movie theaters with your friends. It's a wild fun ride of a film. Now Playing Only in Theaters. Vizeit Score: "A+" (Share this review with your film friends and on social media! Thank you for your continue support.) Copyright © 2022. Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr.
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