Margot Robbie finds herself bewildered by the negative discourse swirling around her 2022 cinematic venture, Babylon. During Tuesday's installment of the Talking Pictures podcast, host Ben Mankiewicz posed a poignant query: why has Damien Chazelle's directorial masterpiece been deemed a "public failure"? Mankiewicz, recounting his viewing experience, wondered aloud, "Why doesn't this film resonate with people?" Robbie echoed this sentiment, adding, "I'm still saying it – I adore it!"
"I'm still at a loss to comprehend why folks harbored such intense dislike for it," Robbie confessed. "I ponder if, two decades from now, individuals will retrospect and exclaim, 'Wait, Babylon didn't fare well during its time? That's asinine!' When you learn that gems like The Shawshank Redemption were initially deemed failures, you can't help but wonder, 'How could that be?'"
Prior to Babylon, Chazelle had garnered widespread acclaim for films such as Whiplash, which swept up three Academy Awards and numerous other accolades, as well as the six-time Oscar-winner La La Land. Hence, the overwhelmingly negative reception Babylon received came as a stark surprise. Currently, the film boasts a mere 57% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In a 2023 interview with Insider, Chazelle opened up about the film's polarizing reception. "Once a filmmaker wraps up their movie, it sort of transcends into the realm of the audience, encompassing critics and everyone else," Chazelle shared. "Everyone will have a unique perspective on the film, and all are valid. In a sense, it then becomes the world's movie."
He further elaborated, "But it's refreshing to have a work that sparks conversations, debates, and strong opinions from both sides. We were all aware that the film would ruffle some feathers and upset certain individuals, and I believe that's a positive. More films should aim to evoke such reactions."
