OUR MOVIE REVIEW:

Upon decades of development, Francis Ford Coppola finally gives us his architectural epic passion project, Megalopolis. Self funded, and the sole writer of the script, this allows this cinematic titan to perhaps take the biggest swing of his career. It’s a challenging feat of a production and honestly, a challenging film. It juggles many ideas, even for a 2 hour plus film, and in the end proves to be a singular kind of experience, however I can’t say it was an experience I found particularly special. 

Coppola transforms New York into New Rome creating the fable before our eyes he sets to make. An architect, Caesar Catalina, is at odds with the Mayor Francis Cicero about the future they want for the people, while a romance also sparks between Catalina and Cicero’s daughter, and public discourse is poisoned among the people by the adversaries of both Catalina and Cicero. It’s a film with a lot of it’s mind; many contemplations on legacies you leave behind as an artist, or how future generations will respond to said legacies. 

Coppola’s formalism is incredibly romantic here, very much aware of his place in cinematic history, the long, maddening productions he’s had to fight to even get made, but also the works of his that have shaped and molded the cinematic medium as it is today. Visually, it’s quite dreamy and maybe a bit perplexing, but I found the text within the film sort of lacking and quite detrimental to the film’s lackluster impact. Megalopolis’ integrity is broken by its own gaudiness. Coppola’s allegory is obvious and half-baked, and he constantly insists its importance despite being confused on what most of it is even saying. It starts as a promising and perplexing film then morphs into an annoying lecture. 

Disappointing of all is Coppola’s characters whose conceptions feel equally as confused as the film’s allegory. Catalina and Cicero are just not that interesting of characters, and while I did find the romance between Catalina and Cicero’s daughter sort of ravishing at points, there’s no satisfaction in any of the ways that these relationships end up playing out. It also feels that Coppola doesn’t understand what makes Adam Driver and Giancarlo Esposito such compelling actor’s. Their strengths are relatively squashed while the direction they are given just leaves me scratching my head. Other performances in the film are fine, though it’s undeniable that Audrey Plaza’s Wow Platinum really elevates the film whenever it lags along in its story. Though I can’t say I particularly liked Megalopolis, I am glad that it exists. It’s a piece reflective of time, juggling so many ideas, and above all, just supremely perplexing. Only time will really tell if it will fare as well as Coppola’s cinematic masterworks like The Godfather, or if it will face the ridicule of films such as Jack. The future is in our hands.