Francis Ford Coppola first had the idea for “Megalopolis” in 1977 and began writing it in 1983, and the wait was worth it — I think. 

Coppola’s grand science-fiction epic is unlike any film I have ever seen before. In equal parts good and bad, the film feels like the product of a director at the top of the film industry who had a lot to say about the world around him. Though pointing out exactly what it was he had to say is anyone’s guess. 

The setting of the film is New Rome, which parallels New York, but people have imperial-sounding names and wear togas and Madison Square Garden is the new Colosseum. 

Adam Driver is Cesar Catalina, a ‘mad’ scientist whose new discovery, Megalon, is an organic building substance which he believes is the future of civilization and will usher in a new utopia he dubs Megalopolis. 

Also, he has the power to freeze time and may have killed his wife, but onto other things. 

Cesar’s main opposition is Mayor Franklyn Cicero, played by Giancarlo Esposito, who is more concerned with the immediate problems facing his city and thinks Cesar is an idealistic dreamer who spends too much time fantasizing about the future with his head in the clouds. 

Their relationship is further complicated by Julia Cicero, the mayor’s medical school dropout daughter and resident party girl, who begins working for Cesar and soon falls in love with him. 

Julia is played by Nathalie Emmanuel, who you may recognize from her time as Missandei on HBO’s moderately successful series “Game of Thrones.” 

Shia LaBeouf is here too, along with Aubrey Plaza, who both deliver truly standout performances, in good and bad ways, as Clodio Pulcher and Wow Platinum respectively.

See what I meant about the names? 

Clodio is a nepo-baby party boy with his sights set on inheriting his father’s empire and intent on destroying Cesar for “stealing his girl.” I include the quotes because Julia never showed any interest in Clodio and he feels entitled to her affections in that classic misogynistic way that a boy who has never been told no before does. 

Wow Platinum is a journalist, Cesar’s mistress and also my favorite part of the movie. 

Plaza is delightful to watch and steals every scene she is in as she schemes for money, power and influence in New Rome. 

Grace VanderWaal, of “America’s Got Talent” fame, plays a teenage pop star who has taken a public pledge to remain a virgin and people donate millions of dollars to her so she can keep her purity as well as her extravagant lifestyle. 

Lawrence Fishburne is in this too! He serves as Cesar’s chauffeur and self-proclaimed historian who narrates the story and draws the heavy-handed comparisons between America and the Roman Empire. 

This film is really all over the place if you could not tell. 

I truly do not know if I enjoyed it or not, but I lean more towards embracing the chaos. I came away thinking Coppola had either lost his mind or reached a new level of artistic genius that has yet to be understood by anyone else. 

The cinematography and costumes are extraordinary and fantastically over the top. The performances are good, particularly from Driver and Plaza who hold nothing back. Some scenes feel cut short and some seemingly important plot points and characters disappear from the story and are never mentioned again. 

“Megalopolis” is a wild ride and a completely original idea that I greatly appreciate in our current hellscape of remakes and franchises. Coppola deserves praise for creating art that generates such feelings and conversations in a film industry that far too often plays it safe. 

If you want a more ‘traditional’ Hollywood movie which follows a formula and ends with everything wrapped up in a satisfying way, this may not be the film for you. 

If you appreciate original stories and creative risks, then I think you will love this movie. 

In short, watch this film, in theaters if you can, because movies like this do not come around all that often and it may be the last hoorah for one of the greatest filmmakers in American history. 

Official Score: 10/10

Categories: Arts & Entertainment