Megalopolis

“Nothing is so terrible as a pretentious movie. A movie that aspires to be something really terrific and doesn’t pull it off is sh**, it’s scum and everyone will walk on it as such. And that is what a filmmaker’s greatest horror… is to be pretentious.” —Francis Ford Coppola, “Hearts of Darkness” documentary about the making of “Apocalypse Now” (1991)

This is the quote I immediately thought of after I saw his new, self-financed film (at a whopping $120 million or more) “Megalopolis.” As the credits rolled I thought, “Well, Francis, I think you just just achieved your greatest horror.”

That being said, I am fascinated with the career of Coppola and all the mega-hits and mega-misses he has had in his many decades of filmmaking. When I heard of this project many years back I was determined to see it in the theater (IMAX in this case) just because of the audacity of Coppola’s resistance to work within the studio system much like his friend and contemporary George Lucas. Coppola is, indeed, one of the last old-school mavericks of the older Hollywood age. So I gladly bought a ticket just to support that kind of mindset which is dying out. I had high hopes. And, well…

“Megalopolis” is an overstuffed mess of a movie. “Megalopolis” has many personal messages ingrained in the “plot.” “Megalopolis” is visually amazing, yet it also looks gaudy and overly-busy. “Megalopolis” is divisive. “Megalopolis” is thought-provoking. “Megalopolis” is frustrating. “Megalopolis” is… pretentious. But it’s a movie that is hard to forget; and maybe that is worth $120 million in and of itself.

It states it’s a “fable” and so it is. We are in New York City (actually New Rome but it sure looks like NYC) atop the Chrysler Building where we see Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) who is walking off the ledge to plunge to his death. One leg leaves the solid metal facade and his body tilts downwards ready to let gravity take it’s toll when he commands time itself to stop. And so it does. From the artificially colored clouds to the traffic below, nothing moves.

He re-centers himself and commands time to continue (which it does). Who is this guy? We never know why he can stop time, but we do know he is a city-planner, an architect, and a genius who is dreaming of a greater future through the creation of a new sub-city in the heart of New Rome. He has invented a new building substance called Megalon (which contends with Pandora’s Unobtanium as being the worst named movie-material ever) which will create an organically themed city of the future and bring peace to all.

His vision for a perfect society is met by plenty of resistance, including Franklin Cisero (Giancarlo Esposito), the corrupt mayor of New Rome, Cesar’s power-hungry cousin Clodio (and outrageous Shia LaBeouf) and an even more power-hungry TV news personality and Cesar’s former mistress Wow Platinum (a campy Aubrey Plaza).

Cesar also is suffering from the loss of his wife but is also falling for Mayor Cisero’s daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) who is torn between her loyalty to her father and her attraction to the visionary Cesar. And let’s not forget the unforgettable performance of Jon Voight’s billionaire Hamilton Crassus III!

The unpopular Mayor Cisero is more than happy to keep the status quo in the city which includes the well-worn narrative of the affluent haves and the struggling have-nots. We see the New Rome angle played out by the rich enjoying debauchery and lavish entertainment while the normal folks are outside looking in and with their anger slowly simmering.

Cesar comes with bold new vision to replace the status quo with his utopian ideas of a Megalon-based city where all are equal, happy, and amazed by all the cool conveniences that abound. Driver’s performance really holds this whole story together with his incredible commitment to the character and the way-out-there concepts Coppola feeds the audience. From weird drug-fueled psychedelic antics to reciting long swaths of Shakespeare, Driver nails the dialog and the body spasms that follow.

The plot is necessary, but it’s the ideas behind the plot of “Megalopolis” are the real story (distracting as they are). And oh boy, there are a lot of them!

Coppola definitely has something to say. The question is, are we understanding it? It looks like Coppola is taking a critical eye to the industry of movie making (as he has done many times in the past) as he lampoons many over-the-top personality types (virgin-like rock stars turning rebellious, old rich guys marrying 20-something brides) and Hollywood’s questionable values.

He expands to include his ideas about America as he uses different (and obvious) tropes and phrases to skewer political candidates, American culture (stating the three evils of economics, journalism, and sex-appeal), and the volatile voting populous. However, Coppola is really looking to share his thoughts about the world in general and what his idea of a better world would be, or to use the plot’s phrasing, what his idea of a Utopia consists of.

To quote Driver’s character at a press conference in “Megalopolis,” “We do have an obligation to each other to ask questions of one another. What can we do? Is this society in which we are living the only one that’s available to us? And when we ask these questions, when there is a dialog about them, that basically is a utopia.”

Coppola is looking to help us see that a utopia is where those of different economic, socio-political, racial and cultural backgrounds can “talk it out” and create a better future through understanding. Driver’s character is a stand-in for that one perfect leader that can muster everyone in the world to embrace a global, collective direction to promote peace on earth (hmmmmmm, sounds like a familiar biblical end-times concept).

In this world all prayers are directed to Kronos, the god of time, which is telling as Coppola is 85 and looking at his time as almost ending. There are phrases used in “Megalopolis” over and over again such as “I won’t let time have dominion over my thoughts” and “Artists can always stop time” that definitely proves that Coppola is fighting against time at this stage in his life.

Interestingly, many scenes in “Megalopolis” involve seeing the pursuit of pleasure, ego and power as dead ends. To me it seems like Coppola is at his old King Solomon stage where he has seen what wealth and power can do and how empty it all becomes. He may agree with King Solomon as he nears the end of life saying,

“All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun… I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” —Ecclesiastes 1:8-9, 14

I am sure, at age 85, Coppola has seen all that Hollywood can bring and the suffering it has reaped. We see court cases like Harvey Weinstein’s and P-Diddy’s as just the top of the iceberg of how much brokenness and damage affect so many victims who have been caught up in seeking “the good life”. As people continue to pursue wealth and power there will never be enough of either.

Indeed, true joy will never be realized for those chasing after such things. Only through a relationship with Jesus Christ can true joy, contentment, and peace can be understood and experienced. Everything else is just a “chasing after the wind”.

This movie is rated “R” for a reason. Over 20 F-words, several sh**, bi**h, a**, h*ll, p*ss, and a several times the Lord’s name is taken in vain (J*sus, G*d d*mn, oh my G*d, oh G*d, for G*d’s sake). There are crude words used for sexual organs and for women as well.

There is a very strong, unnecessary sex scene, upper and lower nudity, very revealing clothing for women, and an instance of startling violence. There are many scenes of lesbianism as well as scenes of excessive drinking, drug use, and smoking. There is a Roman-like worship of ancient pagan gods.

I wouldn’t recommend this film to people, especially because of the sex scene, not to mention it’s really quite a mess narrative-wise and visually as well. Plus… there is the horror of being pretentious as stated by Francis himself. I have to say I still give him props at age 85 to give it one last shot and spend all that money on something he is passionate about. I just wish it wasn’t this. To quote from his 1979 film “Apocalypse Now”… “The horror… the horror”.

• Vulgar/Crude language: Very Heavy
• Profane language: Heavy
• Nudity: Very Heavy —upper female, upper male
• Sex: Very Heavy —including oral, incest, fornication, homosexuality, cross-dressing, prostitutes, crude language
• Drugs/Alcohol: Heavy
• Wokeism: Moderately Heavy
• Violence: Moderate
• Occult: Moderate

Learn about DISCERNMENT—wisdom in making personal entertainment decisions

Every time you buy a movie ticket or buy or rent a video you are in effect casting a vote telling Hollywood, “I’ll pay for that. That’s what I want.” Read our article

Discover true hope. Discover The HOPE! at Christian Answers—full-length motion picture.

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