SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains very mild spoilers for Babylon. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!
Damien Chazelle’s Babylon is among the notable studio “prestige” titles to be released this winter, but one aspect of the film that sets it apart from traditional award season fare is the eye-opening gross out factor. Not only does the film feature violent deaths and foul language, but there is also plenty of scatological humor and moments that are just disgusting. These sequences make for a memorable cinematic experience watching the film, and it definitely made for a memorable cinematic experience making it.
I interviewed the stars of Babylon during the Los Angeles press day last month, and during my interview with Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, and Brad Pitt, I inquired about some of their grossest scenes in the movie. The first I asked about is actually the very first scene in the film, which features an elephant being trucked up a hill and defecating all over a man trying to push the vehicle. Calva, playing future producer Manny Torres, was a spectator to the moment on set, and he pointed attention to the special shot that provides a close-up of the pachyderm’s anus as it lets loose a flood of feces. Said the actor,
I would love to have here the [director of photography] because I remember the shot when everything is coming into you, but it was coming into him. Luckily I was a little like [mimes moving away]. I think it's one of the greatest opening scenes ever. Let's start a movie with an elephant doing that!
It certainly prepares you for what’s to come in Babylon. It’s only a few minutes later in the film that we witness a girl urinating on a man in a private room at a big Hollywood party, and that’s just where the debauchery starts.
Of course, it just feels unnatural to have piss and shit without vomit… and that’s where Margot Robbie’s part in Babylon comes in (or as the actor would put it, the octopus/honey badger hybrid). In the second act of the film, Robbie's Nellie LaRoy is trying to clean up her image as a wild child, and at a fancy luncheon does her best to put on airs. It’s an effort that doesn’t end up going well, and as an act of rebellion she starts to raid the catered food. Doing this has the effect of upsetting her stomach, and eventually she lets loose a stream of projectile vomit on to another party attendee.
Speaking about the experience on set, Margot Robbie reflected,
The projectile vomiting was... you know, you just have to go for it. It was disgusting and hilarious, like a lot of things in this movie.
Playing A-list movie star Jack Conrad, Brad Pitt doesn’t really have any specific gross or disgusting moments in Babylon – but he did add to the conversation by reflecting on how the content of the film is a reflection of the era of Hollywood that is depicted. Said Pitt,
By all reports it was rock and roll time. It was unregulated, it was new. They were figuring out who they were, what the community is, and it was the wild, wild west.
In addition to Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, and Brad Pitt, Babylon’s expansive cast also includes Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, Lukas Haas, Eric Roberts, Rory Scovel, Olivia Hamilton, Max Minghella, Jeff Garlin, and many more. The film is now playing in theaters everywhere (check out Fandango for local listings), and you can check out the ReelBlend interview with Damien Chazelle for a deeper dive into the film.
Check out our 2023 Movie Release Calendar to discover all of the movies heading to the big screen and streaming in the months ahead.
