After nearly 50 years of conceptualizing this insane experience, Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project has finally been released in theaters. Read our Megalopolis review below.
This Megalopolis Review Contains Spoilers
On the set of Apocalypse Now in 1977, Francis Ford Coppola had the idea of making a Roman epic where modern-day America is used as an allegory for the Roman Empire, after years and years of pondering the idea, writing drafts of the script, and pitching the film to studios with nothing but rejection, in 2021, Coppola used $120M of his fortune to fully finance his film, Megalopolis. Whether audiences hate or love the movie, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter, Coppola pulled off a herculean feat with this truly unforgettable cinematic experience.
Megalopolis takes place during the 21st Century in New Rome, a slightly more advanced New York City where Madison Square Garden has been turned into a Colosseum, and everyone wears extravagant semi-futuristic clothing inspired by the Romans attire. The story centers on Cesar Catalina (Adam Driver), a Nobel Prize-winning architect who also has the power to stop time, as he tries to build a utopian version of New Rome with a new material he developed, Megalon, made from the DNA of his deceased wife. While his nemesis, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) has regressive plans for the future of New Rome in the form of a Casino. Caught in the middle of this conflict, Cicero’s daughter, Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) falls in love with Catalina. Meanwhile, Cesar’s cousin Clodio Pulcher (Shia Lebouf) & disgraced journalist, Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza) devise a plan to take control over the city.
To say that this film is easy to write a review about is completely wrong. Coppola’s vision of the future is a film that demands to be discussed with others, as there is truly nothing like it. While many have been quick to jump onto social media and trash the film, I have had many more complex thoughts about my experience of watching the film twice. I first watched the film at the New York Film Festival IMAX live stream screening, with a conversation featuring Coppola, Robert De Niro, and Spike Lee before it began. They were mostly spouting nonsense that had nothing to do with the film but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t entertained. My first viewing was mostly on the negative side, I felt the film was incredibly pretentious in its messaging and filmmaking by acting like this film could save the world. There is also a ridiculous live actor aspect, and then a fight broke out in my auditorium as the credits were rolling. While I laughed a lot and had a good time, it didn’t connect with me, but I felt future viewings would improve my opinion of the film, and I was right. I caught it in IMAX again and sang a different tune whilst coming out.
Upon second viewing, the messaging and themes worked a lot better, as I went in with the knowledge that this is a ridiculous movie about the future of filmmaking. A lot of the more dramatic scenes worked well too, like when Cesar cannot stop time and create anymore without love, I viewed it as Coppola feeling he cannot create anymore without his recently deceased wife, Eleanor, beside him, and that really struck me emotionally. I was also really touched by how much Coppola emphasizes how much his children are the future of filmmaking, as Cesar leaves Megalopolis to his and Julia’s daughter, Sunny.
I also laughed a lot more too, as this might be the most quotable film of the year with hilarious lines such as; “Cesar, you’re anal as hell. While I, on the other hand, am oral as hell.”, “So go back to the cluuuuub”, and “Check out this boner I got.” Not only is the dialogue hilarious, but I also found myself laughing a lot at the sheer absurdity of certain situations and plotlines in the film. For example, Wow Platinum decides to marry Cesar and Clodio’s uncle, Hamilton Crassus III, the richest man in the world, and owner of New Rome’s bank, so she can gain financial glory. She devises a plan to gain control of the bank by starting a sexual relationship with Hamilton’s nephew, Clodio, and having him ask for control of the bank, which would upset his uncle, causing him to have a heart attack and be removed from his position of CEO. What follows is a hostile takeover of the bank, filled with Clodio and his goons throwing their hats on the floor, yelling, “Pick up my hat!”, and then doing so. Clodio then finds Wow Platinum, who now demands he call her, “Auntie Wow”, as Coppola subjects the audience to this year’s funniest sex scene.
Another hilarious plotline is near the third act when Cesar, while sitting in his car, gets approached by a 12-year-old boy, who asks for an autograph. Cesar does so while having a conversation with the kid. First, he asks, “How old are you?”, the boy replies that he is 12 years old. Then, he says, “Oh, I was twelve once, do I look twelve to you?” as the child proceeds to pull out a gun and shoot Cesar in the face. He recovers by infusing his face with Megalon, and in a sequence during Clodio and Wow’s takeover, reveals his scarred Megalon face to her, in a Lawrence of Arabia-like shot, as she screams in horror. To say I was laughing is an understatement.
I don’t think I’ve seen a film so profound with such crude humor and hilarious sequences in it. While many have hated this film, I have found a lot of enjoyment with it, it’s not perfect by any means, but it’s a really fun time, with inventive filmmaking, hilarious dialogue, and outrageous performances, all tied together with a poignant message about the future of society and cinema, I truly have never seen a film like Megalopolis, and it is something I will revisit countless times.
Megalopolis was released by Lionsgate in IMAX on September 27, 2024. It was written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emannuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Lebouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Dustin Hoffman, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, and Chloe Fineman.
If you liked this review of Megalopolis you can read more reviews here at Feature First.
