When you read through the “Megalopolis” production notes, you can tell that the film is the most passionate a passion project can get. Francis Ford Coppola, creator of “The Godfather” trilogy, had been working on this self-described “Roman Epic” since the 1980s. Once he reached age 80, he decided that he couldn’t wait any longer, which led to what most people know about the film: he self-funded the whole thing. $120 million out of pocket and part of his winery business sold, is “Megalopolis” the cinematic masterpiece Coppola has been trying to make for the last 40 years?
“Megalopolis” is an ambitious, inconsistent and sometimes confusing spectacle – but not because it’s hard to understand, just because it’s not good. The film never finds its footing, likely due to the chaotic build of jumbled, clashing ideas that Coppola has been sitting on for decades, none of which are developed here. The messaging gets crooked and all over the place. There’s no big idea that ties all of it together, and by the end, you’re left wondering what the movie’s even trying to say.
Coppola’s script is trying to do too much, throwing out as much political and social commentary as possible, which gets in the way of any cohesive or coherent story. My biggest overall problem with the film was how it felt like Coppola didn’t trust the audience to figure things out independently. Instead of showing us key moments, he just tells us everything through a poorly utilized narrator and pointless reporter. The whole thing ends up feeling like a lecture, like I was continuously being talked at to move the story forward.
The visuals and editing are undeniably stellar, but the worldbuilding refuses to craft a compelling city. The Rome inside modern New York falls flat. Most of the worldbuilding relies on the characters. Adam Driver, who leads the film as Cesar, brings his signature intensity. Shia LaBeouf strays further from his Disney Channel roots than ever before, delivering a raw, transformative and unexpected performance. But it’s Aubrey Plaza who stands out the most.
Plaza is having quite the year: Between her buzzworthy indie hit and Marvel’s latest installment “Agatha All Along,” she’s owning the industry. In “Megalopolis” she plays Wow Platinum, a news reporter with her eye on Cesar’s family fortune. Plaza’s comedic timing is sharp as always; she effortlessly plays a character that would’ve been a fail in anyone else’s hands.
The performance that just didn’t land with me was Nathalie Emmanuel’s, who I recognized from Hulu’s “Four Weddings and a Funeral” TV show adaptation. Here, she plays leading lady Julia Cicero, a woman caught between her family’s rivalry and a love for Driver’s character. But Emmanuel didn’t seem to be the problem; it was more like Coppola had no idea what to do with her. The character ends up feeling dull. In an already overwhelming flick, one misstep could pull the whole thing down
In the end, “Megalopolis” feels like watching a chaotic Shakespeare play that nobody understands in the end. While his “New York Stories” counterparts Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen are gearing up for the end of their careers, it begs the question: did Coppola lose his touch or did he wait too long to strike again? Now, with a box-office flop on his hands, Coppola’s 40-year-long dream was too disastrous to stand up on its own feet, but he took a risk, and for that, I say: go watch it and form your own opinion.
This story was originally published on Common Sense on October 4, 2024.
