A Reel Review: MEGALOPOLIS

When the conversation moves to the greatest films ever made, Francis Ford Coppola would be the only director who would have three (three!), films in the Top 5: THE GODFATHER, THE GODFATHER PART II, and APOCALYPSE NOW. No one gets that high on that list without breaking some rules, and Coppola has been the biggest breaker of them all; re-writing the book on filming, editing, scoring, and acting. This year, Coppola brings his style to the big screen with a film that he has been working on since 1977: the sci-fi epic MEGALOPOLIS. 

 

In re-imagined version of America and the city of New Rome, visionary architect Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), has invented a new element called Megalon, which he wants to use in building a city of the future. Standing in his way is Mayor Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), whose daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanual), defies her father and begins an affair with Cesar. 

 

Written and directed by Coppola and heavily inspired by ancient Rome history, MEGALOPOLIS does not have much by way of plot; the guts of it are Cesar looking to break convention in building a utopia, and the conservative Mayor looking to keep things traditional. Rotating around that is Cesar’s relationship with Julia, his one-time love affair with a TV star (Aubrey Plaza), his big-bank running uncle (Jon Voight), and his wild and scheming cousin (Shia LaBeouf). All topped off with an aging Russian satellite that is in a decaying orbit and ready to fall to Earth on top of New Rome. It’s a film packed with side-stories that while interesting in the moment, do not have much of a payoff at the end. 

 

Underneath all that, Coppola is playing with big questions for his characters to debate: Are utopias good for us? What is art and who gets to say if it is or not? What is the responsibility of a leader, or society? MEGALOPOLIS throws around the questions like candy but ultimately offers no answers. Overall, Coppola uses the film as a huge metaphor for the state of America today. Thankfully, he doesn’t do so bluntly. Cesar’s ability to stop time is a bit of a mystery and is woefully undercooked. 

 

There is still much to admire in MEGALOPOLIS. Coppola uses every inch of the IMAX format, and every shot is a painting. His old out-of-the-box thinking in the editing is still active, with many scenes taking off sideways into psychedelic visions that may or not add much; it’s bewildering at times. The parallels between New Rome and ancient Rome are well done, and overall the film has a classic feel to it in its costuming and overall design; it’s gorgeous and earns its visual impact. Visual effects are stunning in places and ho-hum CGI in others. And for a guy who fired shots at Marvel movies, he sure used a shit-ton of Marvel-like green-screen effects which leads to many artificial-looking setpieces. The score by Mihai Golijov is non-existent. 

 

The cast puts in their best despite being asked to pull off some very odd performances. Adam Driver is great, as is Aubrey Plaza and Nathalie Emmanuel. Shia LaBeouf and Jon Voight are hilarious. Smaller roles are held down well by Laurence Fishburne (who also serves as narrator), Talia Shire, and Dustin Hoffman. 

 

Late in the third act, Cesar hits rock bottom (as most protagonists do), but the resolution to his woes comes too quick and easy (and somewhat ridiculous), and leaves the film with not much of a climax and a ho-hum ending. Like most of his filmography, Coppola throws everything he has on the screen in building MEGALOPOLIS; the foundation is solid, but the upper floors are shaky. That lack of balance makes it a nice place to visit, but we wouldn’t want to live there. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it