Megalopolis

The city of New Rome faces the duel between Cesar Catilina, a brilliant artist in favor of a Utopian future, and the greedy mayor Franklyn Cicero. Between them is Julia Cicero, with her loyalty divided between her father and her beloved.

Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola

Megalopolis is the 40 year passion project of a controversial, lauded and ambitious director that pulls from ancient history, 21st century pop culture and everything in between. So rarely does a film come along that divides its audiences so intensely, and is so openly mocked, but Megalopolis is not like other films, and thank god. In a cinematic landscape that is populated by sequels and reboots, we are lucky that someone is still swinging for the fences. Coppola bases the story loosely on the historical figure Cataline, the ‘rebel’ who failed to overthrow the Roman republic. Adam Driver plays Cesar Catalina, an architect with a utopian vision for the future of New Rome, who battles against the system in the form of Mayor Cicero, played by Giancarlo Esposito. There is a supporting cast of great actors, who are unfortunately underutilised in  underdeveloped roles, Natalie Emmanuel, especially.

Perhaps because of the decades spent in writing and stop and start development the film feels over and underwritten. This film ultimately reads to me as hopeful, a welcome alternative to the dystopian future we are now used to. Coppola’s utopia is vague, a beautiful place, where ethnically ambiguous people frolic, with no political system offered as an alternative. The often stunning visuals and the performances that are a mix of terrible, great and baffling means this film is often inscrutable, but never boring. I can not say that this film is for everyone, two people at my screening walked out, but I think there is more to this film than just a punchline

★ ★ ★

Release Date: September 27th, 2024
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Written by Francis Ford Coppola
Produced by Barry Hirsch, Fred Roos, Michael Bederman, Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman
Cinematography by Mihai Mălaimare Jr.
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Runtime: 138 minutes.