Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” depicts the decadence of Hollywood during the Roaring ’20s. This tumultuous period ushered in new technology, leading to the advent of the talkies, and the end of an era for many silent film stars. This anarchic comedy depicts the rise and fall of Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), a notoriously wild, fictional silent film star who struggles to maintain her popularity once talkies reveal her to be a flawed, crass human with an unusual accent rather than an iconic mystery.

The budget of “Babylon” was massive — an estimated $110 million — in part because of the impressive cast, which includes big names like Brad Pitt, Tobey Maguire, Jean Smart, and Olivia Wilde. The ostentatious Hollywood parties depicted in the film must have cost a pretty penny as well, when you consider the opulent set decorations, costumes, and the sheer number of extras necessary to depict parties so lavish they’d have given Gatsby a run for his money.

“Babylon” crashed and burned at the box office for many reasons — too many to go into here, but they resulted in the film only recouping a small percentage of its bloated production budget. Although the financial failures of “Babylon,” much like the film itself, serve as a metaphor for the entertainment industry’s volatile nature, the movie garnered three Oscar nods and favorable scores with audiences on Metacritic. “Babylon” remains an ambitious, messy, manic love letter to cinema and a snap-shot of pre-Hays-code Hollywood (see Looper’s “Babylon” review to read our thoughts) — it’s a must-see for all film fanatics.