Amidst the crumbling landscape of a futuristic New York City, here named New Rome, renowned architect Cesar Catalina (Adam Driver) envisions a sustainable utopia and is driven to revitalise the city both structurally and socially. Opposing him at every turn is Mayor Franklin Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) who resolutely clings to his conservative values and resists any form of change. Caught between the two is Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter who finds herself drawn to Cesar’s bold vision, his genius and is intrigued by the possibilities he and it offers.
At the ripe age of 84, director Francis Ford Coppola has delivered an intelligent, Roman epic that reflects on our society’s future and the challenges we face. This ambitious epic is sure to provoke strong reactions from those viewers who cling to the status quo, much like Giancarlo Esposito’s Mayor. The Western approach to storytelling—the Campbell model—dominates much of our narrative terrain and while I appreciate a classic Hero’s Journey, I also embrace alternative ways of storytelling. This is why I often gravitate toward films in languages other than English—stories told from unique cultural and structural perspectives that broaden our understanding of storytelling and allow us different ways of ingesting narrative.
Megalopolis embodies a distinctly European aesthetic, style, and content, and if this turns out to be Coppola’s final film, he will have gifted us something for the ages.
FFC has always backed himself, demonstrating a steadfast belief in his artistic vision throughout his career. Understanding that true creative control requires self-financing, he made the bold decision to sell a portion of his wine business to fund the production of Megalopolis.
That’s surely something to respect.
He chose to film in Atlanta for its advantageous tax benefits, state-of-the-art facilities, skilled local crews, along with the wealth of classical buildings that provide perfect settings. Principal photography began in November 2022 and wrapped in March 2023, with a production budget of $120 million.
Coppola himself said:
“The seeds for MEGALOPOLIS were planted when as a kid I saw H.G. Wells’ Things to Come. This 1930s Korda classic is about building the world of tomorrow, and has always been with me, first as the ‘boy scientist’ I was and later as a filmmaker.”
He has been gathering notes for Megalopolis since the 1980s.
Loosely inspired by what was known as the Catiline Conspiracy, Megalopolis references the efforts of the popular Roman architect Lucius Sergius Catiline, who attempted to overthrow the Roman Empire in 63 BC. Had he succeeded, his plan was to dismantle the upper classes and liberate the people from their debts.
I love it when a filmmaker ventures into new territory, drawing from the past to create something fresh, innovative, and daring. That’s exactly what Coppola has accomplished here. It’s not essential to cater to the everyone—art, subjectivity and all that.
In another decade, one more accustomed to ingesting stories in a complex, layered way, this film might have received greater recognition from the public, and I genuinely hope it does in 2024. There’s a wealth of profound philosophy embedded within, and if it introduces the mainstream to the stoic thoughts of Marcus Aurelius amongst many others, then that’s a success in my book.
Coppola said:
“It’s my dream that MEGALOPOLIS will (have) audiences discussing (it) afterwards, not their new diets, or resolutions not to smoke, but rather this simple question: “Is the society in which we live the only one available to us?” ”
Visually, this film is stunning; thematically, it’s deeply humanistic, and aesthetically, it’s a feast for the senses. Its homage to Metropolis (1927) is both respectful and beautifully executed.
The performances are all top notch. Adam Driver as the architect/designer, Catilina Caesar gets to play many facets of a man trying to make the world a better place without having any kind of narcissistic saviour complex that many of today’s so called innovators have (tech bros, I’m looking at you). Nathalie Emmanuel imbues her role of Julia Cicero with love, heart, passion and real care. The mighty Giancarlo Esposito as her father Mayor Cicero, battles with his conservative, status quo loving nature, again bringing layers and nuance. Aubrey Plaza as the desperately ambitious Wow Platinum (great name) brings a 1930s kooky starlet sensibility with claws and maybe steals the film.
Shia LaBoeuf is suitably power hungry, unhinged and attention seeking as Clodio.
Jon Voight has a shed load of fun as the banker Crassus and what a joy it is to see this man, as nuts as he may be in real life, show off his incredible acting skills.
This is the 6th time that Laurence Fishburne has worked with Coppola (he was cut out of One From the Heart) and here he is brilliant (as usual) in the role of Fundi Romane, the driver, protective aide and friend to Cesar Catilina. Using him as the film’s narrator was never going to be a mistake.
It’s also lovely to see Coppola’s sister AKA Connie Corleone/Adrian Pennino herself, Talia Shire turn up as Cesar Catilina’s Mother, Constance Crassus Catilina.
Special mention goes to Kathryn Hunter playing the Mayor’s wife, Teresa Cicero who inhabits the character with wisdom, compassion and heart.
I’ll tell you what’s in short supply these days: hope. Whether it’s the elections (no matter the country), the climate, the systems we rely on, or even our entertainment—overflowing with cynicism (some excellent and warranted, some not so much)—we are bombarded with nursery-rhyme narratives, black-and-white, binary choices: good/bad, right/left, up/down, blah blah blah.
Life, and the world we live in, is complicated, layered, and filled with nuance and detail we seem unwilling to acknowledge or accept.
In Megalopolis, Cesar Catalina offers hope and a way forward out of the mess we find ourselves in, albeit in a science fictional way.
Ambitious, creative and daring, intelligent and non-pandering to the masses, this, whilst not being perfect, is a welcome addition to Coppolla’s filmmaking output and a worthy swansong to an incredible and artistic career.
See it in all its complicated beauty on the big screen and support a director who dares to try something different.
the movie musings 