Megalopolis is Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project of at least 45 years, with the project first thought to be conceived towards the end of the filming of Apocalypse Now, which was released in 1979. It is a film that the now, 85-year-old has been consumed by for over half his life as he has attempted to get this film that projects the fall of Ancient Rome onto modern society, resulting in something that only a (genius) madman could achieve. It is reported that Coppola sold part of his vineyard to finance this $120 million fable whose development and production have become somewhat spread like Chinese whispers within film circles, reaching the stuff of legend, the legends that the movie idolises. It is a film that is made like no other in this sense, most of it is not meant to be taken literally but rather to be viewed as allegorical, a warning of the past, and an attempt to stop time, to see what we have become to save the future.
The film opens with Adam Driver’s Cesar Catilina atop the Chrysler building, as he steps onto the slippery roof, looking over New York, or in this future world, New Rome (with the film adopting a mixture of a neon, techno future, with the influence of Roman history, and a dose of Shakespearian iambic pentameter). As Cesar leans off as if to fall, he stops time momentarily, catching himself. In this Cesar discovers the possibility to save the crumbling city that forms the foundations below his feet. Cesar, chairman of the Design Authority, is a controversial figure, who destroys buildings to make way for his vision of a utopian society, which he will build with an indestructible material, Megalon. Cesar quotes Hamlet’s ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy in its entirety in the early part of the film, and like Hamlet, the audience must ask whether he is mad and whether this madness is for good. Whilst there are many other moving pieces, as Coppola attempts to create a whole and complete picture of society, it is Driver’s optimistic architect that the film centres on.
Megalopolis is not a coherent film, but rather a stream of consciousness that has escaped Coppola’s mind and reached the screen. It plays not as a narrative of sense or cohesion but rather as a dreamy bunch of random ideas. Even the backgrounds of scenes at times do not feel like streets of New Rome but rather slightly blurry to add to the dream-like quality. It is a film, not written in another language, but in a different dimension. It is an enigma, a cypher that is almost impossible to crack. For this reason, at times it makes for confusing and baffling scenes which are hard to digest and read. It is hard to know both what is happening and what Coppola is trying to say. Many will feel that the film verges on parody, with often bizarre line delivery that cloaks the façade of sincerity. It is as if Coppola is too insecure by his own observations of the world that he must add over-the-top comedy that makes the audience laugh at the film to make the underlying observations on contemporary society that much harder to understand. This is not helped by random, and baffling lines throughout the film, for instance, at one point Shia LaBeouf states to himself “Revenge is best in a dress!”. Indeed, this is a film where I saw walkouts several times in what I can only conclude is for its incoherent narrative and at times unintentionally comedic moments, with a film too surreal for modern-day audiences. Meanwhile, others watched this film as if they were watching Tommy Wiseau’s The Room, not engaging with the text but rather distancing themselves from the themes of the film.
The film is full of unsubtle metaphors, of giant Roman statues that engulf the screen only to collapse, trapped in chains, Coppola attempts to show his fear of the collapse of contemporary society. Indeed this scene in particular comes from Cesar’s point-of-view, as if Coppola himself is the only one witnessing what is happening to society. This gives the film a fever dream quality, however, if you are not totally committed to the surrealist fantasy it can easily be read as parody or incoherent nonsense.
However, what Coppola is trying to do is create a spectacle that somehow seems something greater than the cinema. Coppola’s sound designer on Apocalypse Now, Richard Beggs, described his vision as an opera to be screened over four nights. In a now infamous scene, during the film’s premiere in Cannes, a press conference takes place, where someone in the audience stands up and asks a question to Adam Driver’s Cesar, to which he responds. This is Coppola attempting to push the boundaries of cinema similar to how Cesar in the film is attempting to build a new utopic world.
Coppola is also attempting to show a fable of gargantuan proportions. Comparing contemporary America to the fall of Ancient Rome, viewing society at a crossing, at one point Laurence Fishburne’s Fundi Romaine, who is Cesar’s driver and at times narrator, states to his boss, “Updown, downtown, heaven or hell”. Coppola shows all walks of life, the image of celebrity, the guise of power, the glorification of money, sex and scandal, and an unwillingness to compromise and to advance. Thus, Coppola asks through our negligence, arrogance and stubbornness are we about to be wiped out imminently. The film has a love for the past, and shows the importance of history, from quoting Shakespeare to quoting Marcus Aurelius, it has an admiration for the great and powerful men of the past. It is a love letter to America, and particularly New York, showing the city in a fantastical and dreamlike state. However, it is also a plea to stop the madness of contemporary society. Opening the film, Coppola asks: Can we preserve our past, or will the insatiable appetite for power of a few men bring the world tumbling down. Thus the film serves as a warning, a warning to stop hyperbolic discourse and apathy, to warn against AI deepfakes and cancel culture, a plea to come together and unite before it is too late.
Throughout the film, several characters are painted as mad and bafoonish, although many think that this is directionless and poor acting, I choose to believe that this is to satirise society, for us to laugh at ourselves and what society has become. At times it is hard not to laugh at these mad and over-the-top caricatures, Coppola is laughing at these sinners attempting to destroy society and bring down the possibility of a utopia for personal gain. Although Coppola finds it difficult to provide answers, leaving many of the questions ambiguous and futile, it is perhaps this quote from Cesar that sums up Coppola’s aims, “when we ask these questions, when there's a dialogue about them, that basically is a utopia.” For me, the film is a call for conversation, for debate, without judgment or hate, but for compromise and advancement.
Megalopolis is a film that is one of a kind and one whose secrets cannot be fully understood or examined in one or even two viewings. It is a fable of incoherence of a man desperate to save a crumbling society, of someone who has observed a lifetime, and who whilst unable to find a perfect way to convey his thoughts, needs and is desperate to speak his fears and try to find a better future. This is perhaps the hardest review I’ve had to write as I am unsure whether my interpretations are the correct or purposeful ones. Indeed I would not recommend the film to most people, it is hard to understand and at times baffling, and I do not blame any of the several people who walked out of my screening. Yet, I cannot help but applaud Coppola’s passion to fulfil his vision, a heartfelt reflection on America through his life. The film is madness but perhaps there is a method in his madness.
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