Certain filmmakers will come and go, but sometimes one project will help cement their legacy. For writer/director Francis Ford Coppola, it was 1972’s The Godfather. The sprawling Corleone family crime epic has become one of the most iconic films of all time. Nearly five decades later, Coppola has given us a new epic for modern times: Megalopolis (2024)!
Released to the public on September 27th, Megalopolis stars Adam Driver as architect Cesar Catilina, a man with a utopian vision for the city of New Rome. He wants to push boundaries, but it met with resistance from its mayor, Franklyn Cicero, (Giancarlo Esposito), and love from Cicero’s daughter, Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel).
Coppola’s return to filmmaking (his last film came out in 2011) has made headlines for numerous reasons, and the reviews are all over the place. Let’s look at what conventions Coppola did and didn’t follow, and see if his experiment was worthwhile!
Trouble in Megalopolis
Megalopolis first got attention due to the fact that Coppola was self-financing the project. Having sold portions of his wineries, he was able to leverage about $120 million to fund his ambitious project, which had been in his head since the 1970s and 1980s.
Despite COVID-19 delays, Megalopolis began production in 2022. However, it wasn’t easy. Coppola’s constant experimentation led to many clashes with the visual effects team. They would be fired, and it led to other people leaving, including the art department. It should be noted as well that because Coppola financed this whole venture, his vision is being laid bare.
Not only was his vision taxing to the crew, but there was also no traditional human resources department. In 2024, accusations of Coppola sexually harassing extras during a club shoot surfaced. In July, a video was released of Coppola kissing extras to get both him and them “in the mood”. One extra claims there was consent, while another filed a lawsuit against Coppola and his production company. Coppola filed a libel lawsuit against Variety, the magazine that published the story.
All of this ignores the weird marketing of Megalopolis, where a trailer began with many quotes criticizing Coppola’s past work. Unfortunately, it was revealed soon after that most of the quotes were fake. In fact, they were seemingly generated with AI. It was taken down, with the employee who generated the quotes fired. A recut trailer was released soon after.
All in all, the road to Megalopolis‘ release has been unconventional, and has gone into some very messy territory. However, to analyze art, sometimes you must distance yourself from the artist. Coppola’s drive and vision, for better or worse, is put into every frame. So, how was it?
Megalopolis’ Contradictions
Megalopolis almost defies description. Usually, you can pick good movies and bad ones. Megalopolis is an extreme case of being both on the verge of brilliance and on the verge of stupidity.
Coppola has a massive cast here, and it’s clear some people knew what they were doing, and others did not. Adam Driver as Cesar is a decent protagonist, and his artistic goals will probably resonate with many aspiring content creators.
I also found Aubrey Plaza to be magnetic on screen. She plays Wow Platinum (yes, you read that right), a power-hungry woman lusting over Cesar. Plaza has a career of taking weird characters and making them interesting. Her performance here is no different.
Other cast members aren’t as lucky. Shia LaBeouf is the big standout here. Controversially cast by Coppola despite a history of assault, LaBeouf plays Clodio, Cesar’s evil cousin. I could give you ten hours of my time, and I still couldn’t tell you what he was trying to achieve. LaBeouf isn’t a bad actor, but his constant parading around is annoying, and his antagonistic attitude towards Cesar is kind of vague.
That vagueness is a script issue, too. Many have said this movie is incoherent, but I don’t think that’s true. However, it feels like a first draft. It has long monologues, subplots that appear and disappear suddenly, and it dampens the thematic potential.
By the end, you’re exhausted. Yes, Coppola pushes the form forward. He crams it with trippy visuals you’ve never seen before. He even has a scene where a member of the live audience asks a scripted question to Adam Driver’s Cesar (sadly, my showing did not have that)! However, all these elements feel at odds with each other.
Past, Present, and Future
Part of what makes Megalopolis so visually interesting is that it combines modern technology with the architecture of ancient Rome. For instance, there’s a lengthy portion of the movie set in Madison Square Garden. However, the arena hosts chariot races, clown shows, and wrestling. Contrasting with these traditions are huge TV screens we typically see for modern sports games.
Coppola repeatedly compares our modern America with Rome. It’s maybe not the most original comparison, but I think it is one that is apt, especially now. It feels like there is a lot of chaos nowadays, and to some, it feels like the heyday of America is far behind us. To Coppola, we are in a position much like Rome’s: an empire about to fall. So, how do we move forward?
Coppola’s answer to how we create a utopia is to learn to love and have meaningful conversations. He wants us to create, and to dream. The regular person might roll their eyes, and it’s understandable. People often do nothing but crave power, and true change is hard to achieve. However, I don’t think being optimistic is bad. Change has to start somewhere. Let creators create!
Time is also not just something to analyze in production design, though. Cesar can actually manipulate time himself through a new element, Megalon. It seems like an odd addition, but perhaps Megalopolis is saying each artist looks to preserve moments in time with their work. It’s only a guess, though. It might mean something different to you.
Should You Pay to See Megalopolis?
Despite his legendary reputation, Francis Ford Coppola wasn’t able to get the funding for Megalopolis for a long time. At long last, he’s given us his vision. Was it worth all the wait? Maybe not.
Megalopolis is long, a bit sloppy, and overindulgent. And yet, it’s also passionate and intriguing to the visual eye. It both looks beautiful and ugly at the same time. If you go in expecting a similar film to the ones Coppola made in the 1970’s, you’ll be even more disappointed.
Putting aside my mixed feelings though, I’m glad something like this exists. People continuously bemoan the lack of originality that hits our theaters. For better or worse, we have an original work that is being shown. It’s definitely weird, but I can’t see anyone else ever making something close to this.
In an ideal world, cinema can be many things. We should be able to have the Marvel extravaganzas, the indie dramedies, the thrilling horror flicks, and these experimental epics all coexisting and being given an equal chance.
Will Megalopolis be to your tastes? I can’t answer that honestly. If you prefer more classical ways of telling a story, you’ll be baffled. However, if you are willing to give it a chance for the sake of art and creativity, maybe you can find something worthwhile. One thing will be for sure, though. This movie will become an incredibly debative talking point for decades to come!
