POSITIVES
As a tribute to the silent movie era of stars and the sudden transition to the “talkies,” as well as a tribute to the magic of movies, this one does it in a very outrageously in-your-face kinda way. Will definitely catch your attention.
The narrative and plot progression is quite something else, which is one of the main draws in watching this film. This one takes you to so many different places, following multiple different characters, with a lot of eye-catching visuals, drama and comedy galore, which all combine gives you a perspective that is equally of wonder and disgust.
Gotta give it to Writer-Director Damien Chazelle, he knows how to make engaging scenes and set pieces! That wild party! Silent era filmmaking at Wallach Studio and Kinoscope Studios! Scene 17! The snake fight! Descent to hell! There is some memorable stuff here.
Margot Robbie earns all the accolades for her electrifying performance as Nellie LaRoy. That's as obvious as it gets. As for the rest... Diego Calva, Brad Pitt, Li Jun Li, Jovan Adepo, Jean Smart, and so many more in this huge cast, were all good and solid as well… but Robbie is on another level.
Does this movie have something to say? You bet it does! It's got things to say, and there’s a lot for you to chew on with what happens in this film.
NEGATIVES
You’ve seen this story before. You have an idea where the plot is going to go.
This is Damien Chazelle at his most indulgent. He does things in this movie with wanton abandon and takes things up to eleven that it can all just get pretty exhausting.
Outrageously obnoxious at times with the decadence and other excesses displayed on scene.
At some point there’s a flip of the switch with the characters, which unfortunately deprives us from seeing some missing character development that seems important to show us in the context of the narrative.
It’s over three hours long, and it feels like it. Doesn’t help that I wasn’t that big a fan of the third act; which I guess is a whole hour's worth. Oh, and there are still slow parts in it too.
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