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Review by James Lindorf
85-year-old Francis Ford Coppola first sat in the director’s chair back in 1963. After one of the most prolific careers in Hollywood history during the 1970s and ’80s, it has been a quiet century for the filmmaker with only three additions to his filmography. After a 13-year break, he is finally ready to bring a film he has been working on for the better part of three decades. “Megalopolis” is his declaration of love for humanity, his fears over the current state of the world, and his hopes for the future. This homage to classic Hollywood and ancient Rome opens everywhere on September 27th.
Political and economic turmoil is crippling the city of New Rome. Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare, is at odds with Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future within Megalopolis. Caught in the middle of the dispute are the citizens of New Rome and Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.
Whether Coppola attributes it to Edmund Burke, George Santayana, or Winston Churchill, the central inspiration for Megalopolis” is the quote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” The film is a warning cry about the country’s future in the current political climate. It is clear on which side of the aisle Coppola falls. Still, he doesn’t go overly harsh against those he may disagree with, opening the film to a wider audience. After that wise choice, he went on to make “Megalopolis,” the kind of film people will love or hate. Unfortunately for him, the modern internet age means that the hate and the descension will drown out any voices sharing the film’s positive aspects.
The most vital selling point of the film are its performances. With a skilled roster of actors and a talented director, it should be no surprise that there is no dud in the bunch. The strangest thing, though, is that they often feel like they are getting the direction that they are in a different style of Shakespeare play. Driver is doing dark dramatic soliloquies in the style of “MacBeth”, while Emmanuel is giving a performance akin to “Much Ado About Nothing.” Then there is Shia LeBeouf’s Clodio, who feels like a political gangster ripped out of the world of Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet.” It adds a lot of flair to the film for some, but others will feel disjointed as they try to understand the film’s tone.
The biggest problem with “Megalopolis” could be that Coppola has been working on this film for so long. When you finally get to make your dream project, it can be hard to take out anything. He had so many great ideas over the years, and he wanted to see them all brought to life, and that is just what he did. A more cohesive presentation could have helped the movie become more universally loved and less divisive. Even with a more consistent tone, one other thing will leave audiences baffled when the credits roll. And that is how a film with this budget made it to the big screen with visual effects that are so below average. The community the evil-sounding Design Authority plans to build is hideous, and the mythical component Megalon looks worse than many Snapchat filters.
“Megalopolis” has an essential message and some great performances, which makes it worth checking out. Unfortunately, it falls into the wait-for-streaming category and not the rush to the theater group. “Megalopolis” manages to scrape out a 2 out of 5, primarily thanks to Driver and LeBoeuf, who help cover up the many faults.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Producer: Francis Ford Coppola, Barry Hirsch, Fred Roos, Michael Bederman
Screenwriter: Francis Ford Coppola
Distributor: Lionsgate
Production Co: American Zoetrope
Rating: R (Language|Drug Use|Nudity|Sexual Content|Some Violence)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 27, 2024, Wide
Runtime: 2h 18m
