Much has been made about Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, a passion project of the 85-year-old auteur that’s envisioned since the 80s. The IMAX presentation was preceded by a Q&A hosted by the New York Film Festival with Coppola, Robert De Niro, and Spike Lee, and the director touched upon how he was able to finance the $120 million. I really think they should’ve shown the Q&A after the movie if people enjoy the film and want to know more about it.
While the reviews out of Cannes haven’t been kind, the reactions actually made me even more curious about Megalopolis. I for one have a lot of I have a lot of respect for a veteran filmmaker who is so passionate about their vision that they’re willing to put in the extra effort to bring it to life, regardless of how it turns out. In an era where theaters are packed with reboots, sequels, and old franchises, shouldn’t we be championing a one-of-a-kind film born out of a filmmaker’s passion and dedication?
Coppola fashions Megalopolis as a fable, an imaginative tale crafted to illustrate a moral lesson. Set in modern America where NYC is imagined as a crumbling, class-stratified city of New Rome in the third millennium and everyone has a Roman name. Essentially the story is a clash between Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), a genius artist aiming for an idealistic, utopian future, and his rival, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who is all about sticking to the old ways where greed and partisan battles thrive.
In case you’re baffled by what’s going on, Coppola gives us a ‘helper’ in the form of VO by Laurence Fishburne ‘mansplaining’ the plot and what characters are thinking. His character Fundi Romaine, akin to Alfred to Cesar’s Batman, often breaks the fourth wall as he spoon-feeds the most obvious things. It doesn’t take a narrator to tell us that Coppola clearly identifies with, even idolizes his hero, Cesar, with the way he shot Driver constantly basking in golden light. In the opening scene, we see the god-like figure is able to stop time as he’s perched atop his grand skyscraper overlooking the city below.
As the chief of the Design Authority, Driver is a powerful figure as he’s more than just a brilliant architect, he’s also a revolutionary scientist and innovator. Women worship him, from scheming TV reporter with an audacious name Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza) to Cicero’s own daughter, socialite Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) who starts out as his assistant. The Cesar/Julia romance is trying to channel Romeo & Juliet, but there’s a noticeable absence of chemistry and their declarations of love ring hollow. I was more intrigued by Cesar’s relationship with his estranged mother (Talia Shire) and the shaky dynamic between Cicero with his wife Teresa (Kathryn Hunter).
The mystery around Cesar’s late wife isn’t all that captivating, and Julia’s sleuthing to find out more about Cesar’s past is unintentionally comical. There’s not much depth to Julia’s character as she’s mostly just she’s pretty to look at. Plaza practically runs circles around Emmanuel and effortlessly steals every scene she’s in with her campy performance.
Filled with eclectic casting, in the Q&A, Coppola confirmed that he deliberately tackled ‘cancel culture’ when he cast Shia LaBeouf as Clodio, the flamboyant, good-for-nothing son of Cesar’s filthy-rich banker Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight, the staunch conservative who’s no stranger to controversy). During the Q&A, after DeNiro ranted off-tangent about his hatred for Trump, Coppola was more diplomatic and talked about wanting to work with those he disagrees with politically. Coppola frequently uses his movies to reflect on significant themes in American culture. With the election season upon us, some of those themes are indeed relevant, considering how divided the country is right now. “Don’t let the now destroy the forever” as one character puts it. It’s a pretty glaring cautionary tale about the current state of politics.
A call for hope for inclusivity and partisanship is all well and good, though it’s buried under the weight of verbosity and over-stylized CGI. It’s a bloated hodgepodge of ideas thrown together haphazardly, from Shakespeare to Marcus Aurelius, where one character quotes the Roman emperor over and over as if this was a precursor to Gladiator II. The film falls into that ‘style over substance’ trap, and you can really see the impact of it being stuck in development hell for almost forty years. There was a drama reported about the VFX team and the art department leaving the project back in 2022, so that might explain the chaotic blend of film techniques, swinging from classic Hollywood aesthetics to garish, psychedelic effects.
The performances are all over the place as well, some play it straight, while others crank up the camp factor quite a bit. The scene in the third act with Voight’s character drew uproarious laughter and is perhaps the only scene that offers a genuine surprise. The circus scene in the film further amplifies the circusy, tonal-mess aspect of Megalopolis. It’s a case of sensory overload as my brain is trying to process just what my eyes are looking at on-screen – horse-drawn chariots, aerial song & dance, deep-fake sex scandal, oh my! It doesn’t help that the sound was played way too loud even before the film began which hurt my ear, and Osvaldo Golijov’s score can be as over the top as the visuals.
What one can’t deny is Coppola’s sheer ambition which some might equate with ‘delusions of grandeur.’ I wouldn’t go that far, though it’s certainly self-indulgent, as most passion projects often are. The boundary-pushing experimental aspects likely get people talking, but the supposedly ‘immersive’ experience where a live actor stands up to interview Cesar on screen takes me out of the movie. It’s weird, gimmicky, and serves no narrative purpose.
While it’s easy to just dismiss the film as terrible and unwatchable, one part of me is still somewhat in awe of Coppola’s chutzpah in crafting the most expensive indie film ever made. It’s surprisingly earnest and uncynical, as the finale lays Coppola’s optimistic outlook for the future. While I find myself shaking my head, chuckling, rolling my eyes while watching this, I can’t get it out of my head and I find myself thinking about it afterward. Watching it can be a test of endurance, however, so not sure if and when I’ll rewatch this. That said, I implore people to see Megalopolis and make up their own minds. Despite its flaws, it’s a film that demands to be seen, so I’m glad I saw it on the big screen.
Have you seen MEGALOPOLIS? I’d love to hear what you think!
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I’m on the fence about seeing this as I do love Francis and want to support him but I’m also afraid that it might be something disastrous. Plus, I can’t Shia and Jon Voight. They’re awful both onscreen and off.
Y’know, I actually think both Shia and Jon were good in this film. I’m glad Francis followed his own message about bipartisanship and working with people he didn’t necessarily agree politically.
Your experience reminds me of my friend seeing Bobby Dylan earlier this year, “One of the worst shows I’ve ever seen, but there’s no denying he’s a legend.”😁
Ahah, as someone who isn’t a Bob Dylan fan (in terms of his music), I can totally relate to your friend’s sentiment!
As much as I have respect for Coppola for making some of the greatest films ever made, 3 of them are on my top ten favorite films of all time. I don’t know if I can sit through this one after reading so many terrible reviews about it. Lol! As great of artist as he was in his younger years, he may not have it anymore. The last good film that I saw from was The Rainmaker and I liked that one a lot even though he made some changes from the book that I didn’t like.
Now I understand why big studios wouldn’t finance it back in the late 2000s when he got Russell Crowe to be the lead. That’s when Crowe was still a powerful A list star. They probably read the script and go, “F no!” Ha ha.
This film is far from perfect but still worth seeing, esp. if you’re well versed on his work. There are some interesting ideas here and the performances are good overall, but sadly it suffered from being stuck in development hell for 4 decades.
I haven’t seen The Rainmaker yet but I heard he made that as a way to repay his debt to the studio.
I kind of wish this were made 20+ years ago with Russell Crowe in the lead as he’d have been terrific as Cesar. That said, casting is the least of the Megalopolis’ problems.
I’ll probably watch it someday when it hits streaming. That way, if I don’t like it, I can just turn it off. If I pay to see it in theater than I would want to stay till the end because I don’t want to waste my money. Lol!
Yeah, he owed money to a lot of people back in the late 80s and most of the 90s. That’s the reason why he made The Godfather part 3, he almost went bankrupt but the studio bailed him out because he promised them another Godfather film. But The Rainmaker was good, it’s Matt Damon’s first leading role. He was basically unknown at the time when he got that role. Of course, he would shot up to stardom a month later that year when Good Will Hunting came out.
I still remember how excited I was when it’s announced the Crowe was cast back in the 2000s in this film. I assume the studio probably demanded Coppola to change a lot of things from script and he refused. Maybe that’s another reason why they wouldn’t finance it.
It might hit streaming sooner as it didn’t do well at the box office.
Oh so Damon did The Rainmaker before Good Will Hunting? Now I’m curious… I just saw GWH recently for the first time, I can see why it was a beloved film. It made me miss Robin Williams even more.
I didn’t realize Crowe was actually announced to be the lead even before the studio was attached to the project. It’s apparent Coppola wanted complete creative control with Megalopolis from the get go, and he was willing to risk it all. I suppose nobody should be surprised by the paltry box office numbers, it was never expected to be a hit and there wasn’t much marketing budget for it.
Great review Ruth. I’m seeing this this weekend. Is it worth paying extra for IMAX? This might be Coppolla’s swan song as he’s in his mid 80s I think. Is it more watchable than Aronofsky’s Mother 😁?
Hey there Vince! Did you end up seeing it? Sorry I haven’t got time to respond yesterday. I’d say just see it in the regular theater, not sure the IMAX experience is worthwhile and the live interview bit was actually distracting for me.
I haven’t seen ‘Mother’ but generally not into Aronofsky’s work, just too dark for me.
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No, but I will and probably not on the big screen.
So, I like the part about DeNiro venting re: his hate of trump. Oh, right, that’s not in the movie.
Let’s see, Jon Voight. I’m happy to hear he “drew uproarious laughter and is perhaps the only scene that offers a genuine surprise”.
I worked with him early in my Design career, he was wonderful to me and we had a blast! (The Fixer)
At least you gave it 2.5, which is a so/so rating.
I agree, gotta respect his chutzpah .
Who knows, perhaps in the future it will become an acclaimed classic?
This has happened to many books and movies. (ie – Gone With The Wind) The future’s eyes will see different than ours.
Good one, Ruth!
The DeNiro rant about Trump made everyone chuckle. Even Spike Lee was giggling as he went off tangent and said ‘Trump wouldn’t be able to direct this movie!’ Ha! Well I’d rather he direct a movie than run a country!
Oh wow, you worked with Jon Voight too? Glad to hear he was nice to you, I know that people don’t like his political views but hey, people are entitled to their own opinion.
I’m actually being generous with my 2.5 rating but I do admire filmmakers who are willing to risk it all for his art, even if it’s not well received.
Gone With the Wind was one of the first three Hollywood films my late mother introduced me to, so I have a fondness for it despite its flaws. I fell in love with Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) as did my mom then, she had great taste in men, ahah!
Looks like we know who DeNiro is voting for.
One more month and ….. hmmm????
Yeah, I’m not wild about Jon’s political views, but he was great to be with.
He has a lot of wonderful qualities that have nothing to do with politics.
Gone with the does have flaws, but even those hold an historic context as they expose a view (right or wrong) from the times the book was written, and when the film was made.
Technically, wow! The film looks better than many made since and today. It is a cinematic masterpiece.
I think you are right that people need to see “Megalopolis” for themselves. Not giving it a 1 or 2 helps in that regard!
Clark…lol, he was homely, IMO, but the fact he was such a heart throb for MANY women is a testament to his acting skills. Women fell for his characters! xx
I feel as if I’m all alone on Megapolis. I loved it I left my first viewing bewildered yet fascinated. I promptly wrote a 1200+ word review but didn’t feel happy with it. So I saw it again and so much fell into place for me. Rewrote chunks of the review and posted it. Now I’m contemplating seeing it a third time. LOL
Hey Keith! I’m sure you’re not alone, the reviews are pretty evenly divided and I actually gave it a ‘fresh’ as I do admire Coppola’s chutzpah. I think some critics unfairly maligned this film while I think we should be celebrating filmmakers who believe in their vision so much that they’re willing to risk it all like Coppola did.
Well, at least we agree that there’s an earnestness and optimism about the message, I just think the execution is messy. I might rewatch it once it arrives on streaming. Btw, my review ends up being about 1100 words too, Keith, there was just a lot to say.