MEGALOPOLIS

TIFF 24 REVIEW BY: DARREN ZAKUS

DATE: SEPTEMBER 23, 2024

RATING: 2.5 out of 5

Megalopolis is ambitious beyond belief, but Francis Ford Coppola’s latest film is a catastrophe of epic proportions in every regard, resulting in one of the most incoherent and unintentionally hilarious films in recent memory. 

There are few filmmakers who have had such a prolific impact on cinema as Francis Ford Coppola has. His resume includes numerous classics such as The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now and Bram Stoker's Dracula, each marking a standard of excellence within their genre that could be used to teach a masterclass in filmmaking. When he announced his latest film, Megalopolis, featuring a cast that includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Dustin Hoffman, and Jon Voight, cinephiles around the world rejoiced that one of the greats was returning behind the camera again and began hypothesizing the awards potential for the film. It came as a shock when the film premiered earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival that it was a mess in every way imaginable, but after seeing it at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the online reports were not exaggerating how bad Megalopolis is. There is no denying that Coppola’s vision is unmatched and his desire to keep pushing the limits of cinema reminds audiences why he is one of the greatest directors of all time, but his ambition has gotten the better of him in his latest film as almost nothing works in it. But, when you experience such a train wreck of a film with a large audience, it’s impossible to resist the urge to laugh at and revel in the madness that is Megalopolis.

The ideals that Coppola envisioned for the story of Megalopolis are commendable. It’s all about leaving a better world for future generations to inherit, improving on our shortcomings as a race, and it's something to admire. Pulling characters and plot points from both ancient Rome and the history of New York City and immersing them in a futuristic version of New York City, there is potential for something truly groundbreaking like Coppola has delivered with past films. But the film never gets past these lofty ideas. With some of the clunkiest dialogue and most absurd lines, and a story that jumps all over the place that is both hard to keep track of what is happening and making sense of how all of it ties together with an architect trying to build a new world, the entire film is incoherent. It is incoherent to such an extent that it becomes an unintentional comedy as some of the events that truly unfold are absurd (especially that scene with Voight, LaBeouf and Aubrey Plaza). At this stage in his career, it makes sense that Coppola would write his protagonist as a man running out of time trying to change the world, echoing himself once again trying to propel cinema forward as he has done time and time again, with so many inventive ideas that sadly do not work in the slightest. 

Given the pedigree of the cast of Megalopolis, you would expect there to be some great performances at play. And while the cast has spoken about how collaborative Coppola was on set, allowing them to inhabit their characters and experiment beyond Coppola’s writing, very little of their acting choices work. For the most part, the cast sinks to the unbearable standard set by Coppola’s writing. Driver gives one of the worst performances of his career as Cesar Catalina, making you question if this is the same actor who delivered incredible performances in films like Marriage Story and The Last Duel. Emmanuel, despite showing true talent in previous roles, appears as if she has never acted before with one of the weakest performances of the film, while Hoffman and Voight are downright bad. Aubrey Plaza is incredibly campy as Wow Platinum (yes that is her character’s name), and her constant winking at the camera and wacky tone to her performance that feels like a more flamboyant and diabolical April Ludgate somehow works as it appears that she knew exactly what film she as in. Esposito tries his best as Mayor Cicero, creating a commendable antagonist and has some moments of greatness, but sadly it is all wasted in an otherwise messy film. And then there was whatever Shia LaBeouf was doing as Clodio Pulcher, which ranged from screaming uncontrollably and rambling like a mad man which I struggle to call acting.

Much like his characters, the visual design of Megalopolis blends the stylings of Ancient Rome with the city of New York. It’s a neat idea, that despite some impressive set design choices, never comes together visually. The CGI is an eye sore and is over abundant, the costuming choices are very hit or miss, and the cinematography choices are questionable, creating one incredibly cheap looking film. From an audio point of view, the sound design is strong but the music used in the film does not match the story, nor does the ticking clock sound that permeates throughout the entire film as it does not have the countdown feeling Coppola intended. Instead, it is an audio representation of the viewer's questioning of when this film is going to end, more akin to a student watching the second hands on a clock move praying for class to end.

But, the most talked about aspect of Megalopolis is the live question and answer segment. Yes, it exists and it's a truly wild experience that you won’t ever forget. Watching a paid actor walk out onto stage, pretend to ask Driver’s Cesar a question (which is in fact an audio recording that is part of the film’s soundtrack) and continue to scribble down notes as Cesar responds is one of the most bizarre experiences you will ever have in a film. With the lights going on in theatre and the amount of screen being used shrinking to resemble a Zoom call is one of the most outrageous decisions made in Megalopolis (which is saying a lot considering what occurs in the film), that despite Coppola thinking that this blending of live theatre and cinema is the future of movies, is certainly anything but. 

As bad as Megalopolis is, and don’t get me wrong, it is downright terrible, it’s so bad that it is hilariously entertaining as a result. Watching Megalopolis is truly a one of a kind experience between Coppola’s attempts to break new ground for cinema with what he deploys in his film and the incoherent mess of a story that unfolds, and it’s destined to become a cult classic that will create for some truly fun interactive screenings for audience members akin to The Room. There is no questioning that Francis Ford Coppola’s vision is boundless, as Megalopolis is without a doubt one of the most ambitious films ever staged, but everything works against the film’s success creating what is simultaneously one of the worst and best films (albeit for all the wrong reasons) ever made. From an incoherent story told through horribly written dialogue, a star studded cast lost in the material for the most part giving the worst performances of their careers, and a visual style that apart from some good set design looks incredibly cheap and fake, Megalopolis is one cinematic train wreck that you cannot look away from that is certain to generate rapturous laughter for all the wrong reasons.