Megalopolis
A laughable mess from the indulgent mind of Francis Ford Coppola to be enjoyed with drinks and drugs for years to come, as I am pretty sure that's how it was conceived.
A political battle for the future erupts as architect Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) devises a visionary blueprint for the future of ‘New Rome’ (a version of New York mixed with the fashion of the Roman Empire), which threatens the conservative campaign of Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito). As Cesar begins to build his utopia with supernatural ability to stop time itself, he becomes involved with the daughter of Cicero, Julia (Natalie Emmanuel), meanwhile other plots by power obsessed icons emerge including Aubrey Plaza’s sparky and sultry news reporter Wow Platinum, and Shire LeBeouf's delinquent and jealous cousin of Cesar, Clodio. Inspired by the Roman history of the Catilinarian conspiracy, Coppola’s 40-year project attempts to merge the Shakespearean tragedy of old Rome to a contemporary New York in a critical moment about how the future will be crafted, will the empire fall or rise.
What starts off as a promising science fiction Roman epic revision turns into a phantasmagorical golden parade of clownish performances, empty politics, idiotic dialogue and overshot prospects. It's like Coppola got high at a party one night and began ranting about an interesting idea but forgot that everyone else around him was sober. It would be tempting to compare this to the acid trips of Jodorowsky, but that would be doing a disservice to the Chilian auteur, say what you will about the Holy Mountain (1973) and all its drug induced chaos, it still has a philosophy. Megalopolis compromises its ambitious possibilities for reckless storytelling slipping into a vacuum of meaningless debauchery. It’s also disheartening to see how most of the female characters in the film are pretty much sexualised all the way through with much sultry performances and behaviour, which may be part of capturing the decadence of Rome, but it’s just creepy.
Adam Driver and most of the cast commit to all the dazed nonsense of Coppola’s vision including breaking out in sudden dance or balletic movement at any given moment. Driver at one point does a version of the macarena during spasmic trip. Audrey Plaza however is having the most fun wooing the likes of Jon Voight and just giving over to campy nature of the world. What keeps Megalopolis entertaining is how stupid it becomes, and hearing actors spill out ridiculous lines like " Revenge is best in a dress!" spoken from irritating craze of Shire LeBeouf, further one-upped by Voight saying, “What do you think about my boner?” . LeBeouf's casting is frustratingly appropriate for the bonkers direction of the film, but he still is still one of the worst aspects of the film.
Favourably Coppola's homage to German Expressionist imagery from silent classics like Metropolis (1927), and even triptych framing from Abel Gance's Napoleon (1927) does make for sumptuous viewing, and the art direction does present unique world building, but never seems consistent. Most of the time it’s like staring into a snow glob through a diamond prism on at sunset. When Megalopolis let's go completely of narrative and gives over to its dreamy surreal ramblings is when it feels most stimulating, and to be honest I could have done with more of this. It's only when we seem to come back down to earth that the giant plot wholes, tonal shifts, and all-round incomprehension is in full light.
You can tell that it feels 40 years of writing as Coppola seems to be making all versions of the film he as created over the years. It doesn’t feel like a case of a director’s misunderstood vision, but a genuine car crash of overcooked ideas, style, performance and execution that never rained itself in, or even understood what it was doing. However, I have a feeling that in 10 years’ time Megalopolis will be enjoyed during midnight screenings at the Prince Charles where audiences will drink along and laugh at the film’s hilariously empty ramblings.
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