Is there a 'clean' version of this movie?

No. The excess and graphic content are baked into the DNA of the film. Cutting out the 'inappropriate' parts would leave you with about 40 minutes of footage and no coherent plot.

Is it actually historically accurate?

It's 'spiritually' accurate. While the characters are fictional composites, the transition to sound really did ruin careers, and early Hollywood was famously lawless before the Hays Code (censorship) was strictly enforced.

Why is the opening scene so gross?

Chazelle uses the elephant scene as a litmus test for the audience. He's signaling that the movie will be messy, tactile, and unapologetic. If you turn it off then, he's done his job of warning you.

Is it okay for a 16-year-old who loves film?

That's a parent's call, but be warned: it's much more graphic than your average R-rated movie. It's closer to The Wolf of Wall Street but with more bodily fluids and a darker ending.

Babylon – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Babylon

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2022

38%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A three-hour, cocaine-fueled fever dream about the birth of Hollywood that makes the Wild West look like a Sunday school picnic.

7.1/10

57%

53%

→

Babylon

movie

R, 2022

38%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A three-hour, cocaine-fueled fever dream about the birth of Hollywood that makes the Wild West look like a Sunday school picnic.

7.1

57%

Jump to

Also rated on

7.1/10

57%

View →

Where to Watch

Loading streaming options...

Where-to-watch data byJustWatch

Screenwise Verdict

Babylon is a loud, messy, and brilliant disaster. It’s the kind of movie that wants to punch you in the face and then ask if you liked it. For parents, the verdict is simple: this is not a family movie night pick. It’s a 'wait until the kids are at sleepaway camp' movie.

If you love the history of cinema and can stomach high-intensity chaos, it’s a fascinating watch. But if you're looking for something that respects your boundaries or offers a pleasant evening, look elsewhere. It’s a polarizing epic that celebrates the magic of movies while showing the absolute worst of the people who make them.

Age Fit

This is strictly for adults and perhaps very mature film-student types. There is no 'edited' version that makes this okay for kids; the debauchery is the point of the narrative.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

This is a movie that opens with an elephant defecating directly onto the camera and doesn't let up from there. It is a deliberate exploration of depravity, addiction, and the 'beautiful' nightmare of early Hollywood. Not a drop of wholesome energy to be found.

Imaginative

Damien Chazelle's filmmaking is a technical marvel. The long takes, the frenetic energy of the film sets, and the way it recreates a lost world are incredibly creative, even if the content is abrasive.

Safe

It is a hard R-rating in every sense. Graphic nudity, extreme drug use, intense profanity, and scenes involving every bodily fluid imaginable. It is one of the least 'safe' mainstream movies of the last decade for a family environment.

Enriching

For film buffs, it's a fascinating (if cynical) look at the technical shift from silent films to 'talkies.' It captures the cost of progress and the disposable nature of fame, providing real insight into industry history.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Technical mastery in the cinematography and direction that makes the chaos feel alive and immersive.
Justin Hurwitz's score is an absolute powerhouse, driving the narrative with high-octane jazz and percussion.
Historical perspective on the brutal transition from silent films to sound, showing how technology can destroy careers overnight.
Margot Robbie's performance is a high-wire act of charisma and desperation that anchors the madness.

⚠

What to Watch For

The opening 30 minutes features a graphic orgy and an incident involving an elephant that will immediately tell you if you can handle the rest of the movie.
Drug use is constant and glorified in the moment, reflecting the 'decadence' of the era.
A late-movie sequence involving a 'snake fight' and a descent into a literal underground hell is genuinely disturbing and claustrophobic.

Conversation Starters

"Why does the movie portray the 'Golden Age' of Hollywood as such a nightmare?"
"How did the invention of sound change the way actors had to perform, and what was lost in that transition?"
"Does the movie's ending suggest that the art of cinema is worth the human cost it requires?"

Deep Dive

The Chaos of Creation

Damien Chazelle, the guy who gave us the disciplined Whiplash and the dreamy La La Land, clearly had some things to get off his chest with Babylon. It’s a maximalist explosion that tries to capture the transition from the 1920s to the 1930s. The movie is essentially a series of set pieces—some are hilarious, like the repeated attempts to film a single scene with sound for the first time, and some are harrowing.

What makes it worth watching for an adult audience is the way it de-romanticizes the 'Golden Age.' We usually think of this era as classy and sophisticated; Chazelle reminds us it was built by carnies, outcasts, and addicts in the middle of a desert. The soundtrack by Justin Hurwitz is arguably the best film score of the 2020s, providing a frantic heartbeat to a story that feels like it’s constantly on the verge of a heart attack.

"It’s a movie about how the industry chews people up and spits them out, yet somehow concludes that the movies themselves are immortal."

If you can get past the initial shock value—and there is a lot of it—you’ll find a deeply sad movie about people who realize the world is moving on without them. It's a polarizing experience, but it's never boring.