Babylon (2021) Ending Explained
TL;DR: Babylon (2022) ends with a poignant reflection on Hollywood's transition from silent films to talkies, capturing the chaos, excess, and inevitable decline of its central characters. The film's finale fast-forwards to the 1950s, showing Manny Torres (Diego Calva) revisiting a movie theater where he watches a montage of cinematic history, symbolizing both nostalgia and the cyclical nature of the industry. Meanwhile, Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) and Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt) meet tragic fates, underscoring the brutality of fame. The ending is a bittersweet ode to Hollywood's golden age, emphasizing how the industry consumes and discards its stars while itself evolving endlessly.
The Final Scenes and Their Meaning
The ending of Babylon is a sprawling, emotional climax that ties together the film's themes of ambition, decay, and the relentless march of time. In the final act, Manny, now older and disillusioned, returns to Los Angeles after years away. He enters a movie theater and watches a montage of film history-spanning from silent reels to modern (for the 1950s) cinema-accompanied by a haunting score. This sequence, intercut with flashes of his past, suggests that while individuals fade, the art form endures. It's a meta-commentary on Hollywood's ability to reinvent itself while leaving its casualties behind.
The Fates of Nellie LaRoy and Jack Conrad
Nellie and Jack, the two most vibrant and self-destructive figures in the film, meet grim endings. Nellie, after failing to adapt to talkies and drowning in debt, dies off-screen from a drug overdose-an echo of real-life tragic starlets like Clara Bow. Jack, the once-great silent film star, realizes his time has passed and commits suicide, mirroring the fate of many actors who couldn't transition to sound. Their downfalls are presented as inevitable, a result of Hollywood's unforgiving nature. The film doesn't shy away from showing how the industry chews up and spits out even its brightest stars.
Manny's Arc: Survival Without Triumph
Unlike Nellie and Jack, Manny survives but doesn't thrive. His journey from eager outsider to jaded insider reflects the cost of assimilation into Hollywood's machinery. By the end, he's wealthy but emotionally hollow, having lost his love (Nellie), his mentor (Jack), and his own idealism. His tearful reaction to the film montage suggests a mix of grief and awe-grief for what was lost, awe at cinema's enduring power. Manny represents those who endure Hollywood's changes but are left only with memories of its wild, bygone era.
Unresolved Questions & Possible Answers
- What happened to Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo)?
- The film doesn't clarify his fate, but given the racism of the era, it's implied he was pushed out of the industry.
- Why does the film include the surreal orgy and elephant scenes early on?
- These scenes establish the hedonistic excess of the silent era, contrasting with the later sobriety of talkies.
- Is the ending montage meant to be hopeful or despairing?
- It's both: hopeful in that cinema lives on, despairing in that individuals are forgotten.
Personal Opinion
Babylon's ending is a masterstroke of emotional ambiguity. Damien Chazelle doesn't glorify Old Hollywood but instead exposes its dark underbelly while still celebrating its magic. The final montage is overwhelming, a sensory overload that mirrors the film's chaotic energy. While some may find it overly melodramatic, I think it perfectly encapsulates the tragedy and beauty of chasing dreams in an industry that rarely loves you back. The film's unflinching look at fame's toll makes its ending linger long after the credits roll.