With "Babel" Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has crafted the apex to his trilogy that began with the gangbusters "Amores Perros," and continued with the finely crafted and haunting "21 Grams." Unfortunately, it seems that peak is crumbling. "Babel" has the same intertwining story structure as the previous two, but in hopping across continents and making the stories global (taking place in Mexico, Morrocco, and Japan), he loses some much needed focus. It also has what has now become his signature editing-with-a-hacksaw-style of chronology that worked beautifully in "21 Grams" but seems forced here. In fact there's one set of scenes taking place at a Mexican wedding that is needlessly incoherent in its jumping back and forth. Everything in this set of scenes is taking place at one location on one night, so why the jumbled chronology? It makes one wonder if they forgot an editor all together.
"Babel" is not without its merits. The story lines are more often than not thought-provoking and challenging. The ensemble acting is top notch from the big stars (Cate Blanchett is riveting as always in all her subtle and alluring ways and makes the most of her limited screen time) down to the no-name locals (the Morrocan kids being especially effective). There's also a commendable ambition to the whole endeavor as it attempts to explore communication and human emotion in the increasingly global and paradoxically intolerant world. Memorable, too, is some great cinematography of the Tokoyo skyline (especially that awesome closing pan-out from the high-rise balcony) and the Morrocan highlands, where the centerpiece of the intertwined tragedies takes place when an American tourist is accidentally shot by some goat-herding kids playing with a gun used to keep away jackals from their family's livelihood.
Unfortunately "Babel," in its uncompromising vision, plays out painfully in strained, awkward lurches that stretch believability. It's interesting how during various moments, different story lines seem the most compelling. The early scenes in Morocco of both the American couple (Blanchett and Brad Pitt) and the local goat-herders are stark and intimate and represent the best at what Inarritu is capable of as a storyteller. Later, he applies a humanistic touch to the scenes of the Mexican nanny taking her American charges across the border for her son's wedding. There's a wide-eyed innocent nature to the culture clash he depicts that gets garbled later when Gael Garcia Bernal (as the nanny's nephew) dives off the deep end with little reason and leads to a tragic series of events that really test the viewer's ability to take this all as seriously as the filmmaker's would like us to. Likewise, the Japanese tale of the deaf-mute teenage girl struggling to cope with society's unwillingness to communicate on her level, a distant father, and the recent suicide of her mother lurches forward so melodramatically it becomes banal, and the connection it has to the other stories is the biggest stretch to swallow, and most viewers will choke on it.
Then, of course, there is the presence of the aforementioned uber-star Brad Pitt. He's at a point in his career where his celebrity status trumps his acting talent. He's actually quite good as Blanchett's frantic husband, but his star-power is distracting and constantly has the viewer thinking in the back of their mind "wow, Brad Pitt can act" rather than feeling anything for the character. This is a piece of stunt-casting that doesn't work.
There are many compelling moments and noteworthy performances in "Babel," but it crumbles under its own weight as just about everything is reduced to the big breakdown/crying scene, and we are left wondering what Inarritu will do next as a director. He's got talent to spare, but ran out of steam when taking his intimate look at human tragedy global with "Babel."
"Babel" is not without its merits. The story lines are more often than not thought-provoking and challenging. The ensemble acting is top notch from the big stars (Cate Blanchett is riveting as always in all her subtle and alluring ways and makes the most of her limited screen time) down to the no-name locals (the Morrocan kids being especially effective). There's also a commendable ambition to the whole endeavor as it attempts to explore communication and human emotion in the increasingly global and paradoxically intolerant world. Memorable, too, is some great cinematography of the Tokoyo skyline (especially that awesome closing pan-out from the high-rise balcony) and the Morrocan highlands, where the centerpiece of the intertwined tragedies takes place when an American tourist is accidentally shot by some goat-herding kids playing with a gun used to keep away jackals from their family's livelihood.
Unfortunately "Babel," in its uncompromising vision, plays out painfully in strained, awkward lurches that stretch believability. It's interesting how during various moments, different story lines seem the most compelling. The early scenes in Morocco of both the American couple (Blanchett and Brad Pitt) and the local goat-herders are stark and intimate and represent the best at what Inarritu is capable of as a storyteller. Later, he applies a humanistic touch to the scenes of the Mexican nanny taking her American charges across the border for her son's wedding. There's a wide-eyed innocent nature to the culture clash he depicts that gets garbled later when Gael Garcia Bernal (as the nanny's nephew) dives off the deep end with little reason and leads to a tragic series of events that really test the viewer's ability to take this all as seriously as the filmmaker's would like us to. Likewise, the Japanese tale of the deaf-mute teenage girl struggling to cope with society's unwillingness to communicate on her level, a distant father, and the recent suicide of her mother lurches forward so melodramatically it becomes banal, and the connection it has to the other stories is the biggest stretch to swallow, and most viewers will choke on it.
Then, of course, there is the presence of the aforementioned uber-star Brad Pitt. He's at a point in his career where his celebrity status trumps his acting talent. He's actually quite good as Blanchett's frantic husband, but his star-power is distracting and constantly has the viewer thinking in the back of their mind "wow, Brad Pitt can act" rather than feeling anything for the character. This is a piece of stunt-casting that doesn't work.
There are many compelling moments and noteworthy performances in "Babel," but it crumbles under its own weight as just about everything is reduced to the big breakdown/crying scene, and we are left wondering what Inarritu will do next as a director. He's got talent to spare, but ran out of steam when taking his intimate look at human tragedy global with "Babel."