Revered directorFrancisFord Coppolalet his passion project out into the world this September, and the world did not know how to respond.Megalopolis, Coppola’s self-funded, star-studded epic set in a Roman Empire-inspired New York has been met with about every reaction possible. From praise to derision, and even outright hatred, it is clear that this film is themost divisive filmThe Godfatherdirector has ever made. I saw the film on opening day with a packed crowd, and I am not lying when I say a significant portion of the theater was perpetually flabbergasted.
Somewhere in the 40+ years that Coppola worked on the filmthere probably was a phenomenal version of this movie, but it has been re-written, recast, and pushed back so many times that it is almost unbearably messy. DespiteMegalopolisbeing the most unhinged movie experience I’ve had sinceTom Hooper’sCats, I can’t help but love this movie. Even if it isn’t perfect — and it isn’t — this movie takes giant risks. These risks don’t always pay off, but when they do, I can’t help but love it.
‘Megalopolis’ Is at Its Best When It Leans Into Its Eccentricities
The first scene in the film that I felt actually lived up to the film’s colossal expectations is also one of its strangest. In the first act or so, tortured genius architect Caesar Catalina (Adam Driver) attends the wedding reception of his uncle, Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight), the richest man in the world. The reception is at Madison Square Garden, but instead of basketball, New York’s most recognizable arena is literally like the Roman Colosseum. What follows is an extended party sequence that perfectly shows off why this movie had the potential to be one of the best of the year.
The scene crystallizesCoppola’s best directing tendenciesand puts the audience into a parade of excess and absurdity that is both highly entertaining and thematically perfect. We seeBen-Hurstyle chariot races, clown dance numbers,Shia LaBeouf’s character flirting with his sisters, and a full musical performance byAmerica’s Got TalentwinnerGrace Vanderwaal.In the moment, the whole scene feels like the film equivalent of waving car keys at a baby: all flash and no genuine function for the greater story. However, I feel that this is exactly why it works.
‘Megalopolis’ Is Proof That Francis Ford Coppola’s Definitely Still Got It… Kind Of
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why Coppola sets this film in a dystopian meld of ancient Rome and the United States of America. However, the way Coppola uses this scene to further that comparison is quite clever. Say all you want about this film’s sloppy moments, but this thing was stilldirected by the mind behindApocalypse Now! Coppola is steeped in film history and uses every trick he has to make this scene pack a punch. The set pieces and costume design feel like they’ve been pulled straight out ofthe excessive blockbusters of the golden age of Hollywood. The structure in this scene is superb, with the film doing the careful balancing act of cutting between each scene within the reception and having them all converge perfectly at the climax of the scene. The whole thing is glamorous and decadent,but that veneer of prosperity quickly melts away as the scenes progressively get darker and darker.
Caesar is at the forefront of the descent into darkness in this sequence and his scenes are some of the most compelling moments in the whole film. As Driver’s character snorts drugs and glides through the party, (channeling his bestJeremy Strongas Kendall Roy) the film disassociates with him. There’s trippy hallucination sequences where Driver grows about 5 extra arms. It’s beautifully shot with some killer lighting effects that are used like paint on an Adam Driver-shaped canvas. I can genuinely see these moments becoming one of the film’s lasting cinematic images. It is also Caesar at his least redeemable moment.
Francis Ford Coppola Was Fired For Writing One of His Most Famous Scenes
One might say he refused to cooperate.
Caesar is in many ways a symbol of his own aspirations for a utopia. By this time in the movie, Caesar is an abrasive, uncontrollable party boy who takes his own demons out on himself and everyone around him. He displaces low income housing to start his goal of a utopian city and, don’t forget, he’s also the nephew of the richest man alive. In a way,Caesar is everything he wants to change in the world, as he is a decadent, vain, elite who only hurts people. Along with the party itself, Caesar can be seen as Coppola’s view of the current day United States: teetering dangerously close to the edge of decline and irrevocable corruption.
What truly makes these grand thematic symbols work is the way they evolve over the course of the movie. This scene is almost rock bottom for Caesar. It makes his eventual shift into a more empathetic and likable person a lot more interesting,and it also tells us a lot about Coppola as a filmmaker and as a person. Coppola is clearly an ambitious optimist for the future, and although the reception to his swan song has been more bitter than sweet as he likely anticipated, I’d speculate he knows the movie he has made is one of the most unique things ever put on screen.
Megalopolis
An architect wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster.
Megalopolisis now in theaters in the U.S.
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