Apocalypse Now. Dracula. The Conversation. The Godfather trilogy. You can’t think of any other filmmaker who knows how to push the boundaries of cinema with Francis Ford Coppola. The filmmaker is known for taking many risks when he makes his films and each one looks and feels iconic in their own way. Throughout his life he always had one project he wanted to make but felt like it was too risky to bring to fruition, even for his standards. The project, or vision as he would call it, is Megalopolis and after many years he has managed to self-fund the project to bring a truly new type of epic to the big screen.
I will be honest, Megalopolis is very hard to describe. The film itself feels Shakespearean and mythical in places with a science-fiction and fantasy edge to it. The scope is unlike anything I have seen before and it feels reductive and yet progressive. The film itself is an enigma, it should not work but it does. It has a lot to say with a lot of themes such as power, sex and legacy and it grinds questions into your mind about life, longevity and how power can control mankind. It is one of the most philosophical films ever made and it is not exactly subtle about it.
The story is in theory simple, a man, an architect, has created Megalon, a bio-adaptive building material that he wishes to use to create Megalopolis, a utopia in the heart of New York, but this is set in a future where New York has been renamed New Rome, with this American City honouring the Roman ways of entertainment and democracy in order to progress America in a new direction. There are other people who wish to take control of New Rome and create their own vision, their own future. Adam Driver is Cesar, the one in charge of building Megalopolis, with Giancarlo Esposito and Jon Voight playing rivals who wish to bring Cesar down. Shia LaBeouf and Nathalie Emmanuel play characters who attempt to play chess with these power plays and attempt to bring them down or usurp their titles and bring their own ideas to what future the city should go towards.
Megalopolis is a busy film. The film is very arthouse with its look, its style and its cinematography. The film also displays a lot of visual effects and has the scope that many big budget blockbusters which are being made today have. The film attempts to balance the independent world with the blockbuster world by creating a film so original and unique that it will divide a lot of audiences and cinephiles alike. You could argue it is one of the worst films ever made due to its provoking and progressive messages. The controversy and divisiveness works in its favour though, and it brings the film to life in an interesting way. You’re constantly questioning everything you’re seeing and it is hard to follow but when you do follow it the film keeps you focused. Therefore you could see it as a film ahead of its time and could be seen as one of the greatest films ever made.
Megalopolis is designed to polarise audiences I believe and thats why it works. Unfortunately that makes the film hard to market and even harder to decipher. I think Megalopolis will go down a similar route to Francis Ford Coppola’s other films, and in many years time we will look back at the film and find new messages and understand more of what it was trying to say. In the meantime all you can do is accept the film for what it is and enjoy it for what it is.
★★★☆☆
3/5
Final Verdict:
Megalopolis is a truly unique film and a film that I cannot stop thinking about, in good ways and bad ways. The acting and script is all over the place and are constantly at risk of not making any sense. Luckily the performances of the likes of Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito and the many dream-like visuals keep your attention fixed to the screen. The film doesn’t hide away any sense of dignity and goes all out on visual effects. Personally I could have easily given this film one star, but I could also have given it five stars. It is one of those films where you have to see it for yourself and make your own judgment in order to understand the meaning behind it all.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
Comments