Babylon
Vanessa Bednar in Babylon
In Damien Chazelle extravagant and chaotic 2022 epic film, Babylon, which charts the transition from the silent film era to talkies in 1920s Hollywood
Role: Nellie's Mother
Character Description: Vanessa Bednar plays the mother of the film's lead female protagonist, Nellie LaRoy (played by Margot Robbie). Nellie is a wild, ambitious, aspiring actress who crashes her way into Hollywood stardom.
Context in the Film: Nellie's mother is a minor but key character who provides insight into Nellie's troubled and unhinged background. She is most notably featured when Nellie takes her friend Manny to visit her mother at an asylum/sanatorium. This spontaneous and chaotic trip serves to deepen the audience's understanding of Nellie's family life and the root of her self-destructive behavior.
This role contributes to the film's broader narrative, which explores the depravity, excess, and human cost of achieving the American Dream in early Hollywood