Margot Robbie doesn’t understand the negative discourse surrounding her 2022 film Babylon.
On Tuesday’s episode of the Talking Pictures podcast, host Ben Mankiewicz questioned why the Damien Chazelle-directed movie is considered a “public failure.” Mankiewicz recalled watching the film and saying, “Why don’t people like this movie?” Robbie felt the same, adding, “I’m still saying that. I love it!”
“I still can’t figure out why people really hated it,” Robbie said. “I wonder if in 20 years people are going to be like, ‘Wait, Babylon didn’t do well at the time? That’s crazy.’ When you hear something like, [The] Shawshank Redemption was a failure at the time, or whatever it is, and you’re like, ‘Oh, how is that possible?’”
Prior to Babylon, Chazelle had received acclaim for films like Whiplash, which won three Oscars and several other awards, and the six-time Oscar winner La La Land. So, it came as a surprise when Babylon received bad reviews. The film currently has a 57 percent critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chazelle opened up about the polarizing reception the film got.
“Once the filmmaker finishes the movie, then it sort of becomes the audience’s, and that includes the critics, includes everyone,” Chazelle said at the time. “And everyone’s gonna have a different take on the film, and I think they’re all legitimate. Then it becomes the world’s movie, in a way.”
He added, “But it’s good to have something that stimulates conversation and debate and a lot of fierce opinions on either side. We all knew the movie was gonna ruffle some feathers and get some people mad, and I think that’s good. More movies should do that.”
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