Time: 138 Minutes
Age Rating: R13 – Violence, offensive language, drug use & sex scenes
Cast:
Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina
Giancarlo Esposito as Mayor Franklyn Cicero
Nathalie Emmanuel as Julia Cicero
Aubrey Plaza as Wow Platinum
Shia LaBeouf as Clodio Pulcher
Jon Voight as Hamilton Crassus III
Laurence Fishburne as Fundi Romaine
Talia Shire as Constance Crassus Catilina
Jason Schwartzman as Jason Zanderz
Kathryn Hunter as Teresa Cicero
Dustin Hoffman as Nush Berman
Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Megalopolis was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. This is the latest and probably final film from Francis Ford Coppola, a passion project of his that he’s been developing since the 70s, and one that he self financed. It looked very unique and based on the reactions at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, very polarising. Honestly, this is one of the most divisive movies I’ve seen in recent years, I’ve seen people call it a masterpiece, I’ve seen people call it absolute garbage, and I’ve seen others still trying to figure out whether they even liked it. Having seen the movie, I certainly have some complicated opinions about the movie, but overall I liked it.

Megalopolis is a movie of many contradictions and clashing elements. It is overwhelming and is sometimes confusing in the way things are presented, and yet it is cohesive enough to follow. Every actor acts like they are in a different movie, some are on the more serious side, some act like they are in a cartoon, and then there’s Jon Voight doing whatever he’s doing. The tone wobbles all over the place, jumping from having characters acting philosophical and spouting out ideas, to having genuine emotional moments, to indulging in screwball comedy. Much of this messiness is part of why I liked it though. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have some genuine issues. The first act is all over the place and it takes a while to settle into things or to even have a grasp on where this movie might be going. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was originally longer and it was cut down, or if it was meant to be longer and parts of it just weren’t filmed. There’s a lot going on with its subplots, and narratively it’s a mess. The plotlines are half baked and underdeveloped and don’t really pay off. Each conflict or subplot is resolved within minutes and then just moves on, it’s jarring and I legitimately can’t tell whether it’s supposed to feel like that. The characters generally feel kind of hollow, and there’s maybe only one or two characters who actually feel like people.

Megalopolis is certainly a movie with a lot of ideas, but the execution is rather mixed. Either the ideas and points being made end up being quite shallow, or it’s handled so sloppily that the outcomes are left rather questionable. That said, I wasn’t bored watching the movie. I found the story to be somewhat interesting and it was curious to see where it would go next, much of the strangeness had me intrigued at the very least. There are plenty of ridiculous and silly moments which I did enjoy. There’s no doubt in my mind that many of these over the top moments were silly by design, especially with the writing and weird dialogue (and deliveries). There’s particularly a scene near the end of the movie which settles any doubts as to whether the goofiness was intentional or not. It’s certainly an exhausting movie, for a 2 hour and 20 minute movie, there’s so much in here that it felt like it was 3 hours long. I’m not sure that I’m entirely satisfied with the payoff, much like the handling of the previous subplots, everything is resolved within minutes in an implausible almost shrugging way. But the messaging is optimistic and much of the movie is endearing, sometimes that can add something to a film in spite of its many faults.

This movie has a stacked cast and one thing you can say about the actors is that they are committed to their parts, even if each of them act like they are in a completely different movie. This does result in some actors standing out more than others. Adam Driver is great as the lead, he seems to be perfectly in tune with what Coppola wants, and especially did very well with the theatricality of his character. Giancarlo Esposito is amazing here, he shows a lot of range in his role and brings such sincerity that somehow works, considering the strangeness he’s surrounded by. Honestly, he probably delivered the best performance in the movie. Aubrey Plaza is a standout, getting to really let loose and act unhinged, she is a lot of fun when she’s on screen. Nathalie Emmanuel is doing her best considering the rather undercooked material she’s working with, which is a shame considering that she’s one of the major characters. Laurence Fishburne is always great to see, playing both Driver’s driver and the narrator of the film. Shia LaBeouf fittingly plays a hateable villain, who relished his role and seemed to understand what kind of movie he’s in. I’m not sure what to say about Jon Voight, but Dustin Hoffman fared a little better despite not having much screentime.

This is Francis Ford Coppola’s first film in quite some time, and he certainly provides a unique vision here. That $120 million budget self financed by Coppola is on display. It is grandiose and on such a large scale, and the hair, makeup, wardrobe and production design are top notch. The cinematography and visual effects are interesting. There are times where the visuals are absolutely gorgeous. At other times, the green screen backgrounds look like something you’d see in a 2010s sketch comedy. That said, it kind of worked for me, I got weirdly immersed with the imagery and visuals. The editing is also quite bonkers and odd, with plenty of weird choices and almost feels like a fever dream.

Megalopolis is a baffling and messy, but impressively ambitious, earnest, and original film, with bold and insane directing choices, interestingly stunning and deranged visuals, and a committed cast. As seen from the reactions already, people are already very split on the movie, and I can’t really make an estimation as to who would actually like it. It was an unforgettable experience in the cinema, and I’m glad that I saw it at least.