“Megalopolis” is an epic science fiction drama from Francis Ford Coppola, the man behind classics like “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now.” The film follows architect Cesar Catalina as he strives to create Megalopolis, a utopia in New Rome. In his efforts, he clashes with the corrupt Mayor Cicero and others in this epic tale inspired by the Catilinarian conspiracy of ancient Rome. TThe ensemble cast includes Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”), Giancarlo Esposito (“Better Call Saul”), Nathalie Emmanuel (“Game of Thrones”), Aubrey Plaza (“The White Lotus”), Shia Labeouf (“Pieces of a Woman”), Jon Voight (“Heat”), Laurence Fishburne (“The Matrix”), Kathryn Hunter (“Poor Things”), Talia Shire (“Rocky”) and Dustin Hoffman (“Kramer vs. Kramer”).
This is a very unique film, mainly in the fact that it even exists in the first place. Coppola had already attempted to make this film twice since its inception in 1977, and he was only able to make it recently after selling a portion of his winery to reach his $120 million budget. Say what you will about “Megalopolis,” but the film is very clearly something that the 85-year old filmmaker truly wanted to make before he could call it quits.
However, the final product is something that I truly hated. I hesitate to say that the film is awful, as I would recommend that people to watch it and form their own opinion, but I have to say that I found the film to be incredibly pretentious with surprisingly dull performances, lackluster direction and a cluttered screenplay.
One element of the film that has been quite odd from the beginning was the casting of LaBeouf, Voight and Hoffman. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Coppola stated that he intentionally cast actors who had been “canceled at one point or another” in order to avoid making some “woke Hollywood production.” This sort of argument is somewhat understandable when discussing Trump-supporting actor Voight, but I don’t think that this can be applied to actors Hoffman and LaBeouf. The former has been accused of misconduct or assault by a total of seven women, including one who was 17 at the time. Meanwhile, Labeouf was sued in 2020 by musician FKA twigs for sexual battery and emotional distress throughout their relationship, with the trial set to begin in October 2024 (not to mention that he essentially admitted to the allegations back in 2022 in a podcast). While none of these allegations have been proven in a court of law, it still feels dismissive to the people that these actors have hurt by continuing to give them roles in such a high-profile film.
Despite these questionable casting decisions, it is impossible to deny the talent of all the actors involved — which is why it’s so surprising that most of the performances did absolutely nothing for me. The only performances that really resonated with me were those of Plaza and LaBeouf, both of whom were weird enough to keep me invested throughout the entire film. I hate the fact that Labeouf was even in the film due to the abuse allegations, but to give credit where it’s due, his performance was maybe the best element of the movie.
Coppola’s screenplay was probably the most irritating aspect of the film for me. Most of the dialogue is focused on philosophical debates, and when the film is almost two hours and 20 minutes, each conversation can get frustrating. I kept feeling like I was being preached to rather than watching a film. The story also feels like it’s too big for its own good while simultaneously feeling underwhelming.
The directing, like the screenplay, felt a bit all over the place, even if I do respect his vision. This is an epic science-fiction film inspired by ancient Rome, so the production and art design are both about as great as I could have expected from a filmmaker of Coppola’s caliber. Unfortunately, there were some artistic choices that left me baffled, particularly with the film’s extensive use of low-quality CGI and moments of strange editing.
I really don’t know how to talk about this movie. “Megalopolis” is a strange movie that I really disliked, but I also recognize that it’s something that people may enjoy. When discussing the film with my best friend who loved it, neither of us could argue with each other’s points. This is one of those movies that I think everybody should watch and form their own opinions on, even though I personally found “Megalopolis” to be a pretentious mess.
