Review: Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ Is Totally Nuts

Megalopolis: Absolute Madness

Bilge Ebiri, a critic specializing in movies, wrote this article for the publications 'New York' and 'Vulture.'

Francis Ford Coppola's potential last work doesn't contain any elements that resemble a typical film. Image: Francis Ford Coppola via YouTube.

During the screening of Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis at Cannes, a real person walked onto the screen and asked a question to Adam Driver's character, Cesar Catilina, which Cesar answered in the film. This strange incident, in retrospect, seems less bizarre when compared to the overall specter of Coppola's ambitious project, which he has been trying to make for the past forty years amid skepticism and controversy. Megalopolis contains elements drawn from various periods of Coppola's life's work - traces of The Godfather here, a bit of Tucker: the Man and His Dream there - but it also possesses a retro vibe that evokes the space-age wonder and technological progress of the 1950s. It is both fitting and curious that Coppola's vision of future city life, set in 2024, wouldn't seem too out of place on an episode of The Jetsons. Although Megalopolis presents itself as the potential masterpiece of a prolific director in his eighties, at times, it reads like the fever dreams of an imaginative child, who is both overwhelmed and fascinated by life's endless possibilities.

When it comes to Megalopolis, nothing is predictable as you'd see in most movies. The place has its own unique rhythm and lingo. The people there talk in outdated jargon, borrowing from Shakespeare, Ovid, and even Latin. A few speak in rhyme, while others use lofty language that could easily be verse. Adam Driver even recites the famous "To be or not to be" monologue from Hamlet, although it's unclear why. Regardless, it sounds fantastic.

Despite its emphasis on science and reason, the storyline is a mixture of magical elements, sentimentality, trivial emotional scenes, and gangster-style politics. It plunges us into a discussion between imaginative architect Cesar and Mayor Cicero (played by Giancarlo Esposito), who govern alternate-universe New York City and seek a solution for their financial predicament. Cesar has innovated Megalon, a living building substance, and aims for a self-sustaining metropolis that develops according to its dwellers' requirements. On the other hand, Cicero, who is already suffering from disrepute and jeering from the masses, is eager to assist his disgruntled and nervous constituents immediately. "Do not let the present ruin what is forever," insists Cesar to the mayor.

Coppola, who once planned to make a movie based on Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead, clearly supports the dreamer. However, the character Cesar is not perfect. He has incredible abilities - in the film's impressive beginning sequence, we see him stop time as he leans off the top of the Chrysler Building. Despite this, he is an egotistical person who is consumed by his own genius and cannot compromise or take care of those below him. Driver is perfect for this role, as he can display haughtiness and neurosis better than any other actor of his generation. Cesar's life changes when Cicero's daughter, Julia (played by Nathalie Emmanuel), arrives at his party. She is the only other person who sees his ability to pause time, and who seems to possess the same power herself. Although she is drawn to his genius, they also develop a romantic relationship. The actors do not have strong chemistry, but their love feels more symbolic than realistic.

The similarities between Megalopolis and Fritz Lang's Metropolis are apparent, both featuring conflicts between a distant leader and a possibly insane scientist. The elites' self-interest and warfare also impact the citizens in both films. However, Coppola's focus on the elites is greater than Lang's, who depicted the protagonist's exploration of the toll of industrial utopia below. Megalopolis is a movie about ideas, and its fanciful and unreal depiction feels like a creation of its maker's imagination. Coppola's objective is to explore the debate about the future rather than provide any solutions. Depicting extended scenes of poverty and misery would not have aligned with the film's message, which is an ode to those who envision the future.

It is not surprising that the person who directed The Godfather movies is interested in the conspiracies of wealthy people. That is where we meet Wow Platinum, a journalist who is focused on becoming rich and powerful. She starts as the mistress of Cesar, but later marries his uncle, Hamilton Crassus, who is the richest man in the city. Meanwhile, Crassus's grandson, Clodio, is always changing his behavior trying to inherit the family fortune. He tries to befriend different groups to gain power. There are many parties in the movie where people are dressed in clothes similar to those in ancient Rome. Some of these scenes are interesting, and some of them are not.

Megalopolis often struggles to balance its idealistic aspirations with realistic limitations. However, the city boasts moments of incredible creativity. For instance, during nighttime travels, Cesar encounters imposing animated statues. One depicts Blind Justice, who appears frustrated as her scales tip precariously. Another statue portrays a man in chains holding a tablet that shatters under his weight. In a quiet moment, an individual tenderly braids the hair of an imaginary woman surrounded by angelic nurses. Such visually stunning illusions continue to captivate throughout the film until the live-audience element arrives. This element feels perfectly in line with the film's unrelenting, risk-taking approach, drawing little surprise from viewers. The film's occasional dissolves, which previously added a surreal touch to Apocalypse Now and Bram Stoker's Dracula, now consume entire sequences. Whereas those films' stylistic touches were occasional and deliberate, Megalopolis is a constant barrage of visual flare.

However, there are certain parts of the movie that feel rushed, unsatisfying, and lacking in characters. What made Coppola's previous epic movies about family power struggles so captivating was his skill in crafting detailed narratives. We always had the impression that there was a rich and lively world behind the main characters, brimming with dangerous energy. Coppola's struggles in bringing Megalopolis to the screen - which have been well-documented - prolonged the time it took for the project to get off the ground. The reality of this particular production meant that the director had to cut corners and make do with a smaller crew, which is evident in some parts of the movie. For example, crowd scenes appear to be lacking, and some major characters disappear from the plot without explanation. Despite the grandeur of the film's visuals, the digital cinematography is sometimes flat and overly bright, reducing depth and detail and making everything seem unidimensional. Coppola and cinematographer Mihai Malaimare have a proven track record of producing high-quality work in the past, but this movie feels like it could benefit from further refinement. Perhaps future versions will address these issues, or perhaps they are simply the result of the limitations and realities of the current production.

The movie Megalopolis includes many famous sayings and phrases, but some are not actually true. One quote that stands out is often credited to Marcus Aurelius: “The purpose of life is not to be with the majority, but to avoid being with the insane.” However, there is no evidence that Marcus Aurelius ever said this. It appears that Leo Tolstoy used this quote and others accepted it as true. Despite being fake, the quote is still meaningful and warns us about the dangers of following the crowd or going against it to the point of losing our sanity. In the movie, I heard the quote as having an extra comma, which changes the meaning slightly. By adding the comma after "escape," it implies that the goal of life is to escape and to avoid becoming insane by being part of the group.

This paragraph describes how the movie Megalopolis is a testament to the career of director Coppola. It is not uncommon for him to take risks in his projects, sometimes even going insane in the process. Despite this, several of his movies, including Bram Stoker's Dracula, have become masterpieces. It is clear that Coppola is not afraid to take bold moves, even if they end up being financially disastrous. Megalopolis is perhaps his craziest project yet, but the writer enjoys every second of its madness.