Babylon

An epic set in 1920s Los Angeles, Babylon is a tale of outsized ambition and outrageous success, tracing the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood. The film stars Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Diego Calva, with an ensemble cast including Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, and Jean Smart.

Price: $6.99 + taxes and fees

While Damien Chazelle’s 2016 film La La Land celebrated the beauty and possibility of Hollywood, his latest film turns it over and examines its seedy underbelly. In Babylon, Nelly LaRoy and Jack Conrad (Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt), both stars of the silent film era, struggle to adapt to the demands of sound films and to the surveillance of gossip columnist Elinor St. John (Jean Smart). As they struggle with fame, Manny Torres (Diego Calva) struggles with obscurity as a Mexican immigrant who dreams of working in Hollywood before Jack takes the young man under his wing. With the star’s help, Manny quickly climbs the ranks at a major studio and is initiated into the harsh reality of the world he once revered. Chazelle’s screenplay and debaucherous direction exposes the depravity and the sadness behind the glitter of stardom.

Content advisory: violence, drug use, sexual content, nudity, coarse language