Megalopolis (United States, 2024)

The term “an interesting failure” was coined for movies like Megalopolis, an incoherent (but often fascinating) excursion into the mind of writer/director Francis Ford Coppola. An allegorical exploration of modern-day America, this movie is unlike anything Coppola has previously attempted. Self-funded with a reported $120M price tag, it’s likely to supplant Horizon: Chapter 1 as the biggest 2024 box office folly by a respected director. Although Megalopolis is likely headed for some sort of cult status, it is too eccentric and poorly constructed to attract more than token theatrical interest.

Part of the problem is that Coppola isn’t really interested in telling a story and, as such, the narrative aspects of the film play second fiddle to the visual and thematic ones. The characters never feel more than half-formed and the beats of their stories are inconsistently presented. There are times when the movie slows down to a glacial pace (one sequence – a wedding feast and its attendant entertainment – drags on for what seems to be forever) and other instances when seemingly important events are passed by with unseemly haste. The times when the movie works (and there are a couple of brilliant moments) are too few and far between to counterbalance the overall sense of frustration and disappointment.

The premise of this fable is that a New Roman Empire has grown up in North America, creating what is essentially a replica of the ancient republic with all the trappings of 21st century technology. Politically, the cracks are widening, threating the present and future of the Empire. Vying for control of New Rome (essentially New York City) are the unpopular mayor, Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), and the visionary Nobel Prize winner Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver). Neither has a strong populist appeal, however, so a third faction begins to arise. Sensing an opportunity to seize power, Cesar’s cousin, Clodio (Shia LaBeouf), begins to court the mob’s favor by using slogans like “power to the people.” Meanwhile, Cicero’s daughter, Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), attempts to infiltrate Cesar’s inner circle but ends up falling in love with him (and he with her). Their romance forces Cesar and Cicero to confront their mutual enmity for the good of their families and the city in general. But the Empire appears to have passed the tipping point and where Cesar sees a future utopia, Cicero believes the end result will be dystopian.

Had Coppola stuck to storytelling – something that was once his hallmark – the premise might have been enough to keep Megalopolis afloat. But the director has inscrutable ambitions, the nature of which are never made clear. There are times when the movie sinks deep into pretention as Coppola struggles to make this into more than a mere motion picture. He strives for a greatness that constantly eludes him, ultimately putting him into the dreaded “sound and fury signifying nothing” category. In fashioning his vision of Utopia, he employs a lot of pretty special effects but the whole thing doesn’t mean much. And his ultimate message, which seems to be something along the lines of “for the future to escape a death spiral, all human beings must engage with each other in dialogue,” borders on triteness.

It's hard to evaluate Adam Driver’s performance because the character is too thinly drawn. Cesar is obsessed by the death of his first wife, whose name was Sunny Hope (Haley Sims), and determined to remake the world into a better place. He has a relationship with a popular TV personality, Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza), and has gained the financial backing of his powerful uncle, Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight), but his inner humanity only occasionally surfaces, particularly in his romance with Julia. These two have a genuine connection and during those instances when Coppola allows the characters to interact without being overwhelmed by the film’s impressive production values, we get a glimpse of what Megalopolis might have been.

Is there some great hidden truth in this film that I’m missing or is it simply an instance of a director taking a big swing and whiffing? I doubt that Megalopolis will be the next 2001 – something initially perplexing that became revered after it was allowed to marinate in the collective consciousness for a few decades. I don’t doubt this is what Coppola is going for but both story and presentation are lacking. And Coppola’s strengths as a filmmaker/auteur have only occasionally intersected with Kubrick’s.

Even those approaching Megalopolis with an open mind and fully expecting to see an expensive and expansive art film may be disappointed by the result. The more I reflect on the movie, the more convinced I become that the things Coppola does well are dwarfed by missed opportunities and outright missteps. Like many filmmakers in the twilight of a great and productive career, Coppola deserves to make the film he wants to make. He has apparently been kicking Megalopolis around for about 40 years and appears to be satisfied with the end result. But what works for him may not work for many of those who go to see it and I’m in that group.

Megalopolis (United States, 2024)