Movie Review: Megalopolis

What is left to be said about the birth of Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis? Not much, but it's such an unorthodox story that it bears repeating. In short, Coppola sold a portion of his wine empire to fund a project that he has been actively developing since the 80's. Its actual rollout into the world following the completion of production has been anything but smooth as Coppola has been accused of running an unprofessional set where he did everything from keep the cast and crew waiting for hours on set while he smoked weed in his trailer to kissing female extras on the cheek without consent, effectively had to pay Lionsgate to honor his wishes for the film to be released in theaters/IMAX after it was met with a mostly chilly reception at its Cannes premiere and most recently, had to remove a trailer from the internet after it was discovered that it used AI-generated quotes criticizing some of Coppola's most iconic past works. All of the controversies and unusual methods deployed to getting it made are perfectly apt as Megalopolis is a singular oddity that could only be hatched from the debauched brain of an artist that is creeping towards death's door.

Megalopolis really plays out like grandpa has stolen the car keys for one last joy ride after the government has declared he's no longer fit to operate a motor vehicle. Coppola is flying around with no real understanding of where he's going or regard for the rules of the road, but man oh man is he having fun behind the wheel. You can practically see the old man grinning from ear-to-ear behind the monitors while Adam Driver quotes Marcus Aurelius, he sets up come crazy lighting rig that casts a shadow off a building or drops a dick joke 30 seconds after another character has blown through a long monologue about the power of innovation. There isn't a filmmaker alive that wouldn't kill to have at least $120 million to play around with and nobody answer to, so Coppola's overwhelming excitement to actually make Megalopolis happen is 100% justifiable.              

The very clear downside to Coppola self-funding a movie that no studio would back is that this thing is remarkably incoherent. I guess it's ultimately about mankind rallying together to prevent the collapse of the planet so future generations can have a chance to thrive, but attempting to offer any real analysis of what he was trying to say would require having untreated severe ADHD and being exposed to a gas leak for a prolonged period of time. 

As much of a formless, nonsensical mess as it is, there is a layer of intrigue that runs through it that prevents it from being a complete shitshow. Getting to see what amounts to a super expensive stream-of-consciousness epic surrealist sci-fi romantic absurdist comedy stew play out in real time ensures that boredom that never sets in. The highlights of Coppola's delirium montage for me were the huge wedding scene that is cut like a Tim and Eric sketch, the titular utopia that Driver's character is aiming to build being revealed to be a crude CGI rendering of the "What Society Would Be Like If..." meme format, the brief implication that the continued existence of Madison Square Garden is one of the reasons that the United States hasn't collapsed and Aubrey Plaza's mesmerizing madcap performance as a power-hungry television news reporter named Wow Platinum (her improv background hasn't been used this well since Parks and Recreation). Getting a window into the warped, scattershot web of questionable ideas that fill an 83-year-old director's mind sure as shit doesn't make a movie good. In fact, quite a bit of Megalopolis really fucking stinks. But it is such a uniquely strange, confounding watch that it became somewhat endearing to me in spite of all its clear faults. 

While making this movie was a horrible use of financial resources that becomes especially funny when you consider that one of the film's themes is rich people not doing enough to help the world, Coppola burning through a considerable amount of his fortune to make a movie that appealed to almost nobody besides himself is the ultimate act of reckless creativity and ego-stroking that will probably never be replicated again on this scale. Megalopolis may never beloved, but it sure as shit won't be forgotten either and at the end of the day, that's probably all Coppola wanted out of this ill-advised loopy venture. 

Grade: C