Margot Robbie! Brad Pitt! Elephants! Hollywood! Too much is never enough in 'Babylon'

Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” is much too much in every way.

Which is the point. I think.

It’s a star-studded fictionalized history of filmmaking, the story of the transition between silent movies and talkies and an examination of the soul-curdling effects of wretched excess. Often it is these things all at once; if it were a book it would be written in all capital letters.

Chazelle spends 3 hours and 8 minutes not even bothering to search for consistency of tone, unless “too much is never enough” counts. That doesn’t make it an especially good movie. Nor a bad one. But it is a monstrously entertaining one.

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The film focuses on Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt and Diego Calva's characters

The film focuses — ha, focus is not a strong suit — on three characters. The first we meet is Manny Torres (Diego Calva), who is trying to get an elephant to a party. Yes. The party is hosted by Don Wallach (Jeff Garlin), a Hollywood big shot. Think “bacchanalia” for a good starting point, a bash where a live elephant isn’t nearly the most outrageous thing. It makes up the 35-minute pre-credit sequence.

Manny loves movies and is determined to break into the industry. Trying to get an elephant with explosive bowel habits up a hill is just one way of doing so.

It’s at the party that we also meet Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), the biggest movie star in the world. He’s dropped off by his wife, played by Olivia Wilde, who wants a divorce and who we never see again; that’s the pace and the depth of the casting. Jack is bemused by it all, which doesn’t prevent him from partaking in the often-depraved festivities.

Then there’s Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) — not her real name — at this point a nobody’s nobody. But she is burning with ambition. By the time the night is over she has a role in a film and a promising future, if she can hold onto it.

If she could, well, there’s not much movie in that.

A tale of bad luck, bad choices and bad habits

“Babylon” charts the characters’ rise and fall. The rise is of particular interest. Nellie is a natural, at least until sound comes along. (One of the film’s inconsistencies is that it’s later implied that she never was a good actor, even though she nails take after take, down to the number of tears that leak from her eyes.)

Manny, meanwhile, puts in his time and rises up the ranks of producers. He works for Jack for a while. When he’s sent to the premiere of “The Jazz Singer” in New York, he immediately calls his boss: This is the future.

And so it is, which is not great news for any of them, the degree to which varies. But it’s not just the shift in technology. It’s also the age-old tale of reaching the top and making bad decisions to keep your perch there. Bad luck, bad choices and bad habits are a toxic combination for anyone, no matter which rung of the ladder you occupy.

And never believe your own press.

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Director Damien Chazelle, who won an Oscar for 'La La Land,' is good at chaos

Chronicling all this — again, in a hit-and-miss way, disappearing for chunks at a time — is Elinor St. John, a gossip columnist played with a certain amount of acidity by Jean Smart, perfect for the role. She’s not a Greek chorus (she disappears too much), but more like the conscience of the film.

This is particularly so when Elinor delivers a soliloquy of bitter truth to Jack after a story she writes about him. He’s hurt, but he’s also smart enough to know that she’s telling the truth.

So many famous faces show up: Flea, the bass player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers; Tobey Maguire, who is also an executive producer, as a scarily perverse gangster; Eric Roberts as Nellie’s opportunistic father; Max Minghella as Irving Thalberg, the only based-on-real-people character whose name isn’t changed.

Chazelle is no stranger to excess, as anyone who saw “La La Land” can attest. He won an Oscar for best director for that film, the youngest person ever to do so. Here he grasps at the straws of relevance at the end.

He’s better at chaos, and there is plenty of it in “Babylon.” It’s not the best movie you’ll see this year, but it’s the most movie by a long shot.

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'Babylon' 3 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Damien Chazelle.

Cast: Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Diego Calva.

Rating: R for strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity, bloody violence, drug use, and pervasive language.

How to watch: In theaters Dec. 23.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Babylon' movie review: Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie star in the bacchanal