Megalopolis

Released 2024. Director: Francis Ford Coppola

AN EARLY TRAILER FOR MEGALOPOLIS portrayed Francis Ford Coppola as a misunderstood genius by recalling negative reviews in the past by well-known critics on his masterpieces such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. Almost as soon as the trailer went online it was discovered that all those quotes were either out of context or even made up and the trailer was swiftly withdrawn, followed by an apology from Lionsgate Studio.

Not at all an auspicious final push to a difficult project that has taken decades to realise. Megalopolis, a personal passion project of the auteur, had been languishing in development since the 1990s. Numerous big stars were attached to the project over the years, including Robert DeNiro, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicolas Cage, Kevin Spacey, Uma Thurman, Cate Blanchett… but financing always fell short.

Coppola eventually took a personal risk, producing the movie with his own money to the tune of $120 million. You’ve got to admire the conviction of a passionate filmmaker to make sure he delivers his (most likely final) “magnum opus” come what may. For the 85-year-old director, his last hurrah has not turned out to be the masterpiece to add to his legacy. It’s sad that after spending half his life dreaming about Megalopolis, this grandiose vision has turned into a misshapen curio. Coming from someone as revered as Coppola, Megalopolis is a disappointment, and there’s no point sugar-coating it.

Megalopolis wants to be many things all at once – a fable, social critique, science fiction, fantasy, visual extravaganza – and succeeds at none of them. The directing is laboured and lacks clarity. The acting alternates between hammy, bland and self-conscious. The mesh of ideas flow with the fluidity of a clogged drain. In other words, this is not a misunderstood piece of art from one of the legends of cinema.

Adam Driver plays Cesar Catilina, a scientist/architect/designer and inventor of the “Megalon”, a new type of building material, all shiny and mysterious though we never really understand what it is and how it works. Cesar wants to use Megalon to rebuild a section of New Rome (a replica of New York City) as a futuristic utopia. Standing in his way is the city’s corrupt mayor, Frank Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who wants to turn the area into a money-grabbing casino complex. It's not the first time the two find themselves on opposing sides. Not so long ago, Frank was the prosecutor when Cesar was being accused of murdering his wife. They lock horns once more yet the conflict between Cesar and Frank never builds to a sense of risk or jeopardy. More like a feud between two stubborn troublemakers in a building committee.

Caught between the two men is Frank’s daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) who has to choose between daddy or new boyfriend in a soap-opera romance as convincing as a couple in a TV commercial selling insurance. Complicating matters is Uncle Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight), cousin Clodio Pulcher (Shia LaBeouf) and Cesar’s ex-mistress turned enemy with the most ridiculous name: Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza).

You’ll also recognise Laurence Fishburne, Jason Schwartzman and Dustin Hoffman in this cast of familiar faces that crowd an ill-defined and gracelessly-clobbered story with operatic aspirations.

The movie strains and groans as Coppola struggles to make his point, often using lumbering imagery (various colossal statues coming to life as though we’re watching Clash of the Titans) and without any subtle touch, flair or elegance to its muddled structure.

Cesar also has the ability to stop the flow of time but his superpower seems arbitrary and useless except for self-indulgence, playing dice with his own life when he steps out of a window at the top of the Chrysler Building to give the movie some gimmicky visual effects shots without really enriching the narrative in any meaningful way.

The photography is often underlit or badly lit, to the degree that faces and expressions are obscured. The costumes evidently evoke the Roman Empire, though the allusions to myth and historical reference feel affected, like role-playing at some costume party. When they speechify and quote literary texts, instead of sounding thoughtful or erudite it’s as unrelatable as listening to a bad politician. Add to that the sombre voice-over by Laurence Fishburne and the sense of self-importance is overbearing.

Megalopolis is not even superficially entertaining in a B-grade way like some expensive Hollywood follies. I’m sure it wasn’t Coppola’s intention to put his name on something soulless and pretentious, yet he’s so caught up in a tunnel vision to deliver a spectacle that the film never escaped the oncoming train.

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