Right out of the gate, my first problem with Francis Ford Coppola's first film in decades, "Megalopolis", is the title. What an awkward and mushed together assemblage of letters and words. With a name like "Metropolis", the letters and syllables all gel together smoothly. It feels clean when you literally say "Metropolis". Conversely, when you hear the word "Megalopolis", you'd swear that the local town drunk was drinking one whole wine bottle out of Coppola's vineyards too many.
What's sad about this analogy is that it also serves as a perfect summary of this film's overall quality. Don't get your hopes up as far as a basic plot description of the film is concerned. On the surface, "Megalopolis" centers on an architect (Adam Driver) who's determined to rebuild the titular city, even with the opposition of its mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) and the majority of the city's subjects. You'd be forgiven if you're not able to understand anything further outside of that.
The reasoning is that this film's overall narrative structure is extremely clumsy. It's a frequent occurrence while watching "Megalopolis" that a plot development will unfold that's not built up properly or even remotely earned. It's been documented how this film went through production hell for decades, and you can easily tell. The writing, direction and editing are as such that a change in tone and pace is evident around every corner.
Hard as I try to follow the basics, this plot is fragmented to the point that I wouldn't be surprised if there were multiple deleted scenes. This seems like a film that was cut and pasted together so many times because of an indecision over what this is supposed to be. Studio interference or Coppola struggling with the material? Either way, there has to be an explanation as to why important plot points don't have a rhyme or reason to them.
Shia LaBeouf's character's leaking of a sex tape involving the architect, specifically, had no set-up to get to this point whatsoever. Nothing had been established prior that indicated or hinted at this plot point being a possibility. I get cheated and ripped off as a result, and I end up having a difficult time trying to reinvest myself back into the story. This incohesion is such a frequent occurrence that any chance of this film garnering my interest was promptly crumbled.
The only other elements of the narrative that are clear are exactly two things. 1) The parallels between current events, specifically those within the past 8 years or so. 2) An attraction between the architect and the mayor's daughter (Nathalie Emmanuel). And even then, just like the rest of the narrative, it's basically slap dashed together without a comprehensible or firm narrative structure to help us understand their necessity.
A similar statement can be said in regards to the design of the titular city. It's supposed to be a futuristic cross between Rome and New York City. Not only is the concept too weird and niche to truly invest in, but the visual design is uninspired and mostly murky. Only a few choice shots stand out, but I didn’t feel that the visual effects and CGI were convincing enough in making me believe these fictional creations were something I could touch or feel. The lighting is both overused and under utilized, which doesn't help either.
The acting is all over the map as well. Sometimes, the performances really work, namely Esposito when he is opposing the architect's vision. Other times, in the case of LaBeouf and Plaza, it can be either over the top or under delivering. There's hardly any balance so to speak. To be fair, the material the actors had to work with weren't doing them any favors. Odd storytelling, acting and editing choices all around in "Megalopolis", prompting many questions I'm sure won't be answered anytime soon.
Given this is the same filmmaker who put out films like "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now", I was completely disappointed in this film. This doesn't feel like a film worthy of being helmed by a director as prestigious as Coppola. It felt unfinished, even with its lengthy production history. I can't in good conscience give a higher final verdict score to this film, since I know Coppola is capable of doing much better than this.
Final Verdict: 4.5/10
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