Babylon , released in 2022 and starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, is a brilliant film. If it was a friend, I’d describe that friend to others as a majestic bastard.

I am glad it exists, and I’m glad I watched it.

I only watched it recently, on a whim. I was aware that it didn’t do very well at the box office, and that it was pretty divisive among critics (Metacritic score of 60, Tomatometer of 57%). I was also guilty of mixing the movie up with another 2022 film featuring Margot Robbie called Amsterdam(which did even worse among critics, and doesn’t appear to have (m)any defenders).

There are many movies that perform badly at the box office but that are brilliant. Edge of Tomorrow is a great example. In terms of reviews? Let’s just say that Step Brothers has a metascore of 51 and a tomoatometer of 55%, and I think it’s one of the great movies of all time.

To clarify, when I say Babylon is brilliant, or that it’s a majestic bastard, there are a few caveats:

  • It is NOT a perfect film. It is flawed in lots of ways. It hits for the fences and at some points it strikes out.

  • It is NOT for everyone. It will not match everyone’s sensibilities. There are some people who will hate this movie, and I can understand it. there are legitimate reasons to be turned off this movie.

  • It’s a long movie.

With its runtime exceeding 3 hours, an idea struck me. What if, instead of seeing it as an overwhelming marathon, we approach it in digestible, episodic segments?

Reimagining Babylon

While Babylon might not be everyone’s cup of tea, its limited viewership feels almost criminal. Here’s my take on how it could be re-conceptualized:

Think of it as a limited-release TV series. A TV series starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, with enormous, expensive, memorable set pieces. Cut it into 30 or 40 minutes sections, and Babylon stands up to 30 or 40 minutes of almost any other TV show you’ll watch.

It’s currently available in NZ on Neon, with a run-time of 3 hours, 1 minute, and 17 seconds. Here is a proposed way of watching the movie as a TV show:

  • Episode 1 – ends at 30 minutes and 35 seconds, ie, up until the point Brad Pitt falls asleep and the title Babylon appears.

  • Episode 2 – ends at 1 hour and 46 seconds, ending with the front page of the newspaper talking about the latest Hollywood divorce

  • Episode 3 – ending 1 hour 33 minutes and 08 seconds, after a certain snake fight scene.

  • Episode 4 – ending 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 9 seconds, “I won’t be back”

  • Episode 5 – ending 2 hours, 27 minutes, and 5 seconds, as the car starts moving

  • Episode 6 – the final episode. If reimagined as a TV show, I would probably advocate for the end to be recut, but that’s my own perspective and I have a feeling the director would feel differently.

If you haven’t given Babylon a shot, envision it as a six-part series, with each episode lasting around 30 minutes. Try the first episode (ie, the first 30 minutes), and my bet is that you’ll want to watch the rest. If you do, you’ll be glad you did.