2.0 out of 5.0 stars
“Megalopolis” is a $120 million, 40-years-in-the-making, self-indulgent fever dream.
Despite a loaded cast — Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf and Dustin Hoffman, to name just a few — the real star of this film, released on Sept. 27, is Francis Ford Coppola. Returning to the big screen after 13 years, the famed director — whose resume includes “Apocalypse Now” and all three parts of “The Godfather” — delivers an entirely self-indulgent project that is impossible to understand.
The film opens with Cesar (Driver) on a rooftop, practicing his ability to freeze time. It’s unknown how he obtained this ability or for how long he’s had it. Later, in a discussion with Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), his love interest and rival Mayor Franklyn Cicero’s (Esposito) daughter, they refer to Cesar’s groundbreaking architecture and conclude that all artists can freeze time as they work. Though Cesar is a famous architect, the metaphor feels inappropriate, as he only ever tinkers with the tools at his desk or demolishes already unstable buildings.
The film then arranges its cast in a large set of indoor scaffolding, where Cicero hams it up about building a casino and Cesar plagiarizes Hamlet’s “to be, or not to be” soliloquy for no clear purpose. Wow Platinum (Plaza) — yes, that is the character’s real name — is also introduced in this scene. As a scandalous news reporter, she swears on air, calls Cesar out for not returning her calls and point-blank asks interviewees what it’s like to be rich.
The dialogue in this film is awkward and obvious, completely lacking in subtext or subtlety. At one point, while sleeping together, Platinum drops to her knees in front of an overwhelmed Cesar and says, “You’re anal as hell, Cesar. I, on the other hand, am oral as hell.” Later, while driving through a poverty-filled area of New Rome, the New York City stand-in for this film, animated justice statues topple over a car while the passenger comments that they are “surrounded by injustice,” in case the lack of justice wasn’t obvious enough. It feels like Coppola lacks faith in his audience.
By the middle of the film, everyone is out to get Cesar at New Rome’s Colosseum. Clodio (LaBeouf) tries framing Cesar for something he didn’t do and Mayor Cicero uncovers his daughter’s feelings for Cesar. But the cherry atop the nauseating sundae of this scene is the auction of a 16-year-old’s virginity for $100 million with even younger children taking part in the bidding war, leading to a full-scale riot.
For a movie trying so hard to be sexy, “Megalopolis” lacks any genuine romantic flair. The main relationship between Cesar and Julia is underdeveloped and rushed. When they are finally paired together, they seem physically intimate, but the chemistry in their dialogue is on par with middle school theater. Adding insult to injury, much of the attempted eroticism stems from incest. LaBeouf’s Clodio lustfully obsesses over his cousins, including Julia, and is openly intimate with some of them. While this is a nod to the cultural norms of the Roman Empire, it’s uncomfortable to witness.
Despite its many flaws, “Megalopolis” is a movie that tries to look unique with some technical elements on par with the impressiveness of Coppola’s earlier works. The production designers built a miraculously believable world inspired by modern-day and 70s-era Manhattan as well as Ancient Rome. Every set piece fits within the film’s context and enhances the viewing experience. The lighting also impresses with Coppola’s use of vibrant reds, greens, blues and golds amplifying Mihai Mălaimare Jr’s — “Jojo Rabbit” and “The Master” — skillful cinematography.
Unfortunately, many of the visual effects are better suited to a video game on the PlayStation 3.
“Megalopolis” could have worked well as a comedy, but there is no levity to the jokes. The actors are taking themselves too seriously. Coppola’s mockery of American and Ancient Roman politics falls flat. Serious speeches are peppered with clips of Adolf Hitler and people getting shot in the butt by a bow and arrow disguised as a boner.
The production of “Megalopolis” has also been jam-packed with controversy. Coppola was photographed sexually harassing a woman on set, although the woman in question later came out in defense of the famed director. LeBeouf’s casting was meant to be anti-woke and anti-cancel-culture. There was also a now-deleted trailer by Lionsgate with fake AI-generated movie review quotes from Coppola’s past films. Ithaca’s local indie movie theater, Cinemapolis, removed the film from its release calendar altogether. Locally, only Regal is showing “Megalopolis.”
In interviews, Coppola explained that he’s been working on “Megalopolis” for over 40 years. While it’s obvious he used that time to come up with many scenes, effects and ideas, it doesn’t appear that he trimmed any of the duds from his final cut.
