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While it did not fare well at the box office, the film has garnered a devoted legion of fans.<\/p>\n
Babylon, the epic historical comedy-drama from Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash), is airing on TV tonight (Friday, 13 February).<\/p>\n
Set during the decadent days of early Hollywood, the film centres around Manny Torres (Diego Calva, Bird Box Barcelona<\/a>), a Mexican immigrant who dreams of making it in Tinseltown and, as such, works his way up through the behind-the-scenes part of the business.<\/p>\n Babylon Trailer<\/p>\n During this time, he meets several characters – movie star Jack Conrad (Oscar-winner Brad Pitt, F1<\/a>), aspiring actress Nellie La Roy (Margot Robbie, Barbie), jazz trumpeter Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo, Overlord<\/a>) and cabaret-singer Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li, Sinners) – with the story chronicling Manny and these other characters’ rise and fall.<\/p>\n Babylon’s efforts to capture the hedonism of the era caused a slight bit of controversy upon release, with the movie in Ireland being handed a rare 18 rating.<\/p>\n This emphasis on depicting drug use and sex, along with the film’s whopping 189-minute running time, was no doubt a factor in its divided reception – with the movie appearing to earn both scorn and praise from critics in equal measure. Indeed, it currently holds a 57% Rotten Tomatoes score.<\/p>\n That said, elements of the film were also singled out for praise. These include the scenes detailing how older films were made, Chazelle’s vivid and immersive direction, Justin Hurwitz’s energetic and Oscar-nominated score, Robbie’s fearless performance, and Tobey Maguire’s memorable supporting turn as a menacing gangster to whom Manny and Nellie wind up in debt.<\/p>\n Despite earning three Oscar nominations, Babylon only grossed $64.9 million at the box office on a reported $78-80 million budget. <\/p>\n In the years since its release, however, the movie has grown to be seen as a new cult classic in some quarters.<\/p>\n Babylon is on TV tonight on Film4 at 11.45pm. It is also available to rent on Apple TV, Curzon, Google Play, Prime Video and the Sky Store.<\/p>\n