Film Review - Megalopolis
Images courtesy of Madman Entertainment.
The day a Francis Ford Coppola epic comes out is a day to remember. All anyone is able to talk about is how one of the greatest directors of all time, the genius mind behind The Godfather and Apocalypse Now pledged $120 million to Megalopolis.
Here he comes out with the manifestation of his long time dream project: a heavily stylised neo-Roman sci-fi epic.
The film follows Cesar (Adam Driver), an architect belonging to the city of New Rome’s most prominent families, who holds a dark past that Mayor Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) refuses to let go of.
The film centres on an awesome concept: what if the Roman Empire never truly fell? With depictions of debauchery and fluidity, it reflects on and shows us how Rome would be in the modern day context, showcasing just how insane society was under the likes of Julius Caesar and Caligula.
The audience is thrown into montage scenes, with quick cuts,bright colours, and neo-Roman costuming, where togas meet Zara and H&M. There’s a lot going on, and a lot of people talking: Shakespearean monologues, Lawrence Fishburne’s narration popping in and out, and a time travel plot point that barely seems to be explored. This is Coppola at his most experimental. The eclectic stylisation is stimulating - you can’t wait to see what’s next - but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to understand what’s happening. The film conveys scenes of confusion to the point that it feels like an acid trip, especially in the first half of the film. The second half gets lazy, where a trend of split screens seems way too frequent.
Megalopolis boasts an all star cast. Driver holds his own as Cesar, however the chemistry between his character and mayor’s daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) fails to deliver an impact, although they do look good together. Audiences are tired of Shia Labeouf, but he was there anyway, playing a character that is practically himself, a drunken socialite that for some reason must cause mayhem for all of those around him. Giancarlo Esposito was a highlight, it seems like he was having fun playing a role that isn’t a variation of Gus Fring. Grace Vanderwaal was an interesting choice for the role of a vestal virgin pop star, and her plot was kind of random, but fun regardless. Aubrey Plaza was hilarious as always.
In all honesty, the film creates more questions than answers. The time travel plot was random,poorly explained and strangely executed. It’s hard to understand some character motivations, so it’s easy to assume that the characters themselves weren’t as integral to Coppola’s 30-plus year long development of the Megalopolis concept. The city itself needs more lore, with only the elite of the city on display, the neighbourhoods seem to be skimmed over, taking away from the stakes of Cesar’s new city. It’s unclear if the city has been destroyed, or was supposed to be destroyed throughout the movie, with a plot point involving a satellite also being skimmed over. Was that Charli D'amelio we saw for a second?
Despite the overall confusion, the experience of watching this movie can only be described as awesome:the whimsy felt organic, the world was immersive, the costuming and images felt like they should be showcased in a museum. It is rare to get an epic film these days, especially showcasing an original story, Megalopolis is both of those things..
Megalopolis is the film equivalent of an elderly woman healing her inner child by dying her hair bright pink. It does seem like Coppola is doing whatever the hell he wants, and it’s hard not to love it. This must be an incredibly liberating move for him, and I’m glad it was made. You can’t help but commend that he is 80 years old making movies about Roman socialites in sandals, Jon Voight with a fake boner, and a scheming Aubrey Plaza telling a character to quite literally kiss her ass. The film is as entertaining as it is obnoxiously dramatic.
Had Coppola dragged Megalopolis to running at 3 hours long, allowing a little more substance to elements of the plot, the film would have been close to perfect. For now this is the kind of movie that people would recommend to friends, but won’t paint in the same light as The Godfather. It's hard to say how the film will be received by audiences now, but it is sure to have an impact. It may not be as cohesive as Apocalypse Now, but it’s definitely one of his strongest works in a long time: worthy of the mantlepiece, but just a little lower on the shelf.
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Megalopolis is screening in cinemas from Thursday 26th September. For tickets and more info, click here.