FILM REVIEW
MEGALOPOLIS
Rated R
138 Minutes
Released September 27th
Well…this film is a trip, a series of dreams, perhaps nightmares, with a loose storyline, sewn together with the interplay between a vast cast of characters illustrated with fantastic images, lavish hedonistic parties, and a glorious utopia just out of reach of angry citizens kept on the edge of survival. I found it impossible to connect with any of the main characters intimately, as there are just too many of them populating the meandering story, and I didn’t sense the main actors were a close ensemble but were there to represent concepts. There is not always a smooth continuation from one scene to the next, but each is beautifully staged with richly appointed interior and exterior backgrounds. Legendary writer/director Francis Ford Coppola took more than 40 years and $120 million of his own money to complete this movie, and as we would say in today’s vernacular, “It’s a lot!”
Coppola is now 85 years old, so probably is feeling his mortality. He grew up in New York City, studied drama at Hofstra, and then filmmaking at UCLA. He started in the business writing screenplays, including Patton and Is Paris Burning. He trained under the great Roger Corman, as his assistant. Coppola’s first movie, Premature Burial (1962) is one of the most impressive fear-inducing movies I’ve ever seen. Some of the greatest movies of all time are part of his repertoire: The Godfather, The Godfather II, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now. Coppola’s whole life has been film – he’s a giant of cinema worldwide. So let’s think back to the beginning of his filmmaking career, to guess what he means to do with Megalopolis.
There are great themes of power – for good, evil corruption, and of hope for the future. As often has happened in history, a handful of men control the city, a place that seems to have Roman names and citizens in Roman costumes, and New York landmarks. The Chrysler Building, an architectural work of art, is front and center in many scenes. There is a struggle to achieve a dream city. A comparison looms, of our modern cities and the Fall of Rome. It’s not set in a specific period but rather has hints of ancient Rome and 1930s Art Deco, mixed with a sci-fi utopia. Classic movies are hinted at in the visuals, including Buster Keaton’s Safety Last (1923), Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936), and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927). If there is an overriding theme, it’s history repeating itself in time. The architecture and interior design of the sets make seeing the movie worthwhile for fine artists, architects, and designers, despite the storyline not really being a “line.”
The cast is huge – meeting that many people in 2 hours and 18 minutes is daunting. But they had been living in Coppola’s head for 40 years. Viewing the movie, though, it takes concentration to remember who’s who. Adam Driver as “Cesar,” Aubrey Plaza as scheming talk show host “Wow Platinum,” Giancarlo Esposito as “Mayor Cicero,” Nathalie Emmanuel as “Julia Cicero,” Shia LeBeouf as “Clodio,” Laurence Fishburne as driver “Fundi Romaine,” and Jon Voight as “Hamilton Crassus III” carry the story, Driver performs Shakespeare soliloquies linked to his troubles, and he’s brilliant.
Megalopolis has occupied Coppola’s imagination for so long, it may be that he forgot that the audience would be coming in cold and he packed a lot into one film. The rhythm seems to ramble and recognition of what he’s trying to convey may not be immediate at times. Some of the audience at my screening walked out early, but many spontaneously stood up and clapped at the end. I would have liked to seen the style be more camp, with more immediately funny passages, to lighten the seriousness. This is a film that might be better enjoyed after a couple of shots or tokes if you do that sort of thing. No one can deny that this film is epic in scope. It’s as if the War of the Worlds video game and a giant Salvador Dali masterpiece got together and gave birth to this movie.
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
