As a cinephile who has witnessed the evolution of Francis Ford Coppola’s cinematic journey from the Godfather trilogy to the enigmatic Megalopolis, I find myself both captivated and bewildered by this latest opus. The film is a testament to Coppola’s unwavering ambition and his relentless pursuit of the extraordinary, a trait that has defined his career since the days of Apocalypse Now and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
As a cinephile who has attended numerous film festivals over the years, I vividly remember the buzz surrounding the unveiling of Megalopolis at the Cannes Film Festival back in May 2024. The anticipation for this film was palpable, and now that the theatrical trailer has been released, my excitement is reignited. With its release date set for September 27, 2024, I can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia as I recall the moments leading up to the festival and the impactful films I saw there. I eagerly await the opportunity to immerse myself in the world of Megalopolis once again.
In one of the less extraordinary occurrences within Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, a real person stepped onto the movie screen to question Adam Driver’s character, Caesar Cicero (Caesar Catilina in the film), an event that was later answered by the character. This moment is now seen as one of the less unusual incidents in the film, given the long and tumultuous history of its production, which has been a dream project for Coppola spanning four decades. The movie, making its premiere at Cannes, is shrouded in speculation, skepticism, and controversy, with elements that seem to have been pieced together from various stages of Coppola’s filmography: traces of The Godfather, hints of Tucker: the Man and His Dream. However, the movie feels more aged than its contemporary works. Viewing it gives the impression of an artist from the 1950s, influenced by visions of scientific advancement, innovative design, and space-age wonder. It’s ironic that when we catch glimpses of Coppola’s future city in this 2024 film, it appears not too dissimilar to something we might have seen on The Jetsons. Megalopolis presents itself as the (potentially final) testament of an artist now in his 80s, but at times it feels like the imaginative musings of a precocious child, filled with wonder and perhaps lost amidst the myriad possibilities of the world before him.
In Megalopolis, nothing seems typical of a regular film. Instead, it follows its unique rhythm and language. Characters frequently use archaic expressions, combining fragments of Shakespearean, Ovidian, and even Latin dialogues at times. Some characters recite in rhyme while others engage in more philosophical discourse that seems poetic. In an unexpected moment, Adam Driver delivers the “To be or not to be” soliloquy from Hamlet. I can’t quite explain why it’s included, but it certainly sounds captivating.
The plot, for all its love of science and reason, is a miasma of magic, melodrama, corny emotionality, and gangster-movie politics. It lands us right in the middle of a debate between visionary architect Cesar and this alternate-universe New York’s Mayor Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) over how to use their limited resources when they’re already wracked by debt. Cesar, inventor of a living building substance called Megalon, dreams of a self-sustaining city of the future that will organically grow with its inhabitants. Cicero, already plagued by scandal and booed wherever he goes, wants to help his angry and anxious citizens now. “Don’t let the now destroy the forever,” Cesar insists to the mayor.
In a previous attempt, Coppola aimed to bring Ayn Rand’s novel “The Fountainhead” to life, yet he portrays Cesar as complex – a character endowed with extraordinary abilities, such as halting time in the film’s captivating opening scene from the Chrysler Building. However, Cesar is also self-centered, immersed in his own genius and indifferent towards those beneath him. This role suits Driver exceptionally well, given his knack for portraying arrogance and anxiety better than most actors of his generation. The story takes a turn with the introduction of Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), the party-loving daughter of Cicero, who is the only one to witness Cesar’s time-stopping power, and who appears to share this ability herself. Drawn by his brilliance, a relationship develops between them, though it seems more symbolic than physical in nature. The actors lack chemistry, but their love feels more like a profound connection than a typical romance.
In this film, there’s a hint of the main struggle featured in Fritz Lang’s classic sci-fi movie Metropolis, often referred to as the precursor of all City of Tomorrow films. Here, a distant, self-serving leader and a genius scientist, potentially mad, collide, eventually finding common ground through love. Similar themes of subjugation by elite indulgence and conflict are present in both Megalopolis and Metropolis. However, unlike Lang, Coppola delves deeper into the lives of the elites. While Lang’s hero ventured into the caverns beneath Metropolis to observe the harsh realities of the utopian city above, Coppola focuses more on debating the future than depicting solutions. This movie is less about characters and more about concepts; it feels intentionally surreal and fantastical, as if it were a product of its creator’s imagination. In essence, Coppola is more intrigued by discussions about the future than he is in providing answers to those debates.
Coincidentally, it’s not unexpected that the director behind The Godfather trilogy is attracted to the political machinations of the affluent. This setting is where we encounter Wow Platinum, a striking financial journalist who aspires to amass wealth and power. Initially, she becomes Cesar’s mistress, but later marries Hamilton Crassus, the city’s wealthiest man, played by Jon Voight. Simultaneously, Crassus’s grandson Clodio (portrayed by Shia LaBeouf in various outfits) plots to seize control of the family fortune for himself. He endeavors to infiltrate the city’s underground societies to build his influence. Many of these power plays unfold during periods of unrestrained revelry, where scantily clad attendees are intended to depict the opulence and decay reminiscent of ancient Rome. At their peak, such scenes exude a dreamlike creativity that captures their seductive, anything-can-happen allure. At their weakest, these sequences appear as disjointed shots of unenthusiastic extras dancing aimlessly.
Megalopolis frequently finds itself in a struggle between its aspirations and practical realities. It showcases remarkable instances of innovation. As Cesar navigates the city at night, he encounters colossal animated statues: Blind Justice appears tired and frustrated, her scales precariously unbalanced; a man chained figure holding a tablet wavers, shattering the tablet into fragments. A man combs the hair of a woman who is surrounded by heavenly nurses, only to find that she isn’t there, and he’s alone in a grimy room reminiscing. By the time the live-audience aspect appears (and it remains to be seen if this will carry over when the movie hits real theaters), it makes an impact, but given the film’s relentless, all-out approach, the audience takes it in stride: “Oh, so that occurred.” The periodic transitions that lent the dreamlike quality to films like Apocalypse Now and Bram Stoker’s Dracula are now prevalent throughout entire sequences. In those films, they served as stylistic embellishments. Here, they’re nothing but flourishes, consistently present.
However, certain sequences appear hurried, lacking detail, and sparsely populated, which contrasts with Coppola’s earlier masterpieces of family dynamics and power struggles. It was his skill in crafting rich narratives that made us feel as if there was a vibrant, dangerous world lurking just behind the main characters. The production challenges of Megalopolis, including the prolonged time it took to get started and the practical difficulties of the shoot, have been discussed elsewhere. Coppola himself has admitted to having to make compromises and work with a smaller team after an initial more ambitious vision. This is evident at times, as crowd scenes can be scarce, major characters may abruptly disappear from the storyline, and despite the visual grandeur, the digital cinematography can appear dull and overexposed, diminishing depth and intricacy, giving a flat, one-dimensional feel. Despite Coppola’s artistic vision and previous successes with cinematographer Mihai Malaimare, at times it seems as if the demands of the present have overshadowed the potential of the timeless. Perhaps future edits will add more depth, or perhaps the constraints of the current moment simply outweigh the possibilities of eternity.
In the bustling cityscape of Megalopolis, phrases that seem like well-known quotes abound. Among these floating sayings, one often attributed to Marcus Aurelius resonates: “The goal of life is not to align with the majority, but to avoid joining the ranks of the insane.” Interestingly, this quote is not found in any of Marcus Aurelius’ works; it appears that Leo Tolstoy once claimed it as a saying from the Stoic Roman Emperor. Consequently, it seems this quote may be apocryphal, yet its sentiment remains powerful and thought-provoking. I envisioned an additional comma in the quote, between “escape” and “finding”: “The goal of life is not to align with the majority, but to escape, finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” This small adjustment might emphasize the idea of self-awareness in the face of societal pressures and potential madness.
In a surprising twist that aligns perfectly with Francis Ford Coppola’s creative journey, he consistently pushes boundaries with each new project, often venturing into the unknown. Just as he confessed to losing his sanity during the production of ‘Apocalypse Now’, I initially believed he had lost touch with reality after directing ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’. However, that movie has since grown on me and I now consider it a masterpiece. It seems unfathomable that the same visionary who risked his entire studio on the enchanting, dreamy, unforgettable disaster that was ‘One From the Heart’ could have been thinking rationally. And yet, here we are, witnessing another instance of Coppola’s audacity, perhaps even surpassing himself with ‘Megalopolis’. Frankly, I can’t deny my delight at every wild, unconventional moment of it.
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2024-08-22 20:55