March 3rd, 2023
Common Sense Media Age: 17+ Violence 4/5 Language 5/5
Sex 5/5 Drinking/Drugs 5/5
My Age Recommendation: 17+ (Due to brief but graphic violence and disturbing imagery, pervasive strong language throughout, frequent graphic nudity including brief graphic sexual situations, and frequent drug usage throughout).
I saw a trailer for this movie back in 2021, and I was extremely confused. I thought this was the sort of movie to be counted as an artistic film and I had a feeling this would be an eccentric movie that would win all sorts of awards. I was not the only one with this feeling after checking online statements, but upon release of this movie, people were saying it was a huge flop. I knew I had to see for myself if this movie wasn't as glamorous and impactful as the trailers made it seem. The story follows four people throughout their lives trying to make it as either film stars or film producers. It starts with a man named Manny who always seems to be the assistant to great actor Jack Conrad, but he always wants more. Nellie is an eccentric girl who really wants to be a star and crossing paths with Manny seemed to jump start her career. Finally, there is Sidney, a black jazz musician who tries to make it on films despite discrimination due to his race. Throughout the movie, the film shows the rise of all characters, and it slowly shows their untimely demise, and the main message is that everyone in the movie was just a small part of the entire film world we know today. Let me say, this movie was not terrible. Yes, it was way too long and of course it was overly gratuitous in every way possible, but the overall message stayed the same throughout the movie, and this made the end feel so dramatic and impactful. I will admit, some scenes were incredibly long and overly dramatic to the point where it could have been taken out and the story would have been the same, but I liked the 'full circle' feeling that came as the characters got their chance in the limelight and then got chewed up by Hollywood and its frequent technological advancements. There was one scene I think is worth mentioning where Nellie does her first film with sound as the technology advances enough to where that is possible, and the one take motion of her having to repeatedly redo her scene because of the problems with her voice really made me think about how hard it was for some stars to adjust to new movie settings, especially in the 1920's and 1930s. Unfortunately, the story was very uneven, with some parts of the film moving incredibly fast and some parts moving painstakingly slow. Usually that alone is enough for me to give this a 2-star rating, but because the message and the characters were so well developed and thought provoking, it caused me to rethink my decision and give this a 3-star rating. Overall, this is a thought provoking and great movie, but be warned it has many slow moments!
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