The critics' reviews are in for Francis Ford Coppola's latest film Megalopolis after its Cannes Film Festival premiere.
So what's the verdict out of Cannes? Mostly positive. Also that it's crazy. And confusing.
Megalopolis according the the critics
Damon Wise of Deadline said the movie is a “mad modern masterwork that reinvents the possibilities of cinema” after seeing it at Cannes. The operative word here is mad. He goes to explain that he thought it was “something of a mess; unruly, exaggerated and drawn to pretension like moth to a flame.”
However, even though Wise thinks it's a little pretentious, he still thinks it's “a pretty stunning achievement, the work of a master artist who has taken to Imax like Caravaggio to canvas. It is a true modern masterwork of the kind that outrages with its sheer audacity.”
He continues describing the movie, noting that halfway through it, a “very audacious gimmick that tears down the fourth wall in way younger filmmakers can only dream of.”
Coppola gets to break the rules in Megalopolis, and I believe this is where his 62 years in the industry serves him well. However, he only gets to break the rules because according to Wise, the movie “is never, ever boring.” And like the acclaimed director he is, this movie will “inspire just as many artists as the audiences it will alienate.”
Do you think that's a fair trade?
The “absolute madness” of Francis Ford Coppola
Vulture's Bilge Ebiri describes the film as “absolute madness” and the “craziest movie I have ever seen.” Also, that there's nothing normal about it.
A few things struck me in his review. He wrote about details in the film that may be the sole reason I'd watch it: “The characters speak in archaic phrases and words, mixing shards of Shakespeare, Ovid, and at one point straight-up Latin. Some characters speak in rhyme, others just in high-minded prose that feels like maybe it should be in verse.”
David Ehrlich of Indiewire posted on X (formerly Twitter): “The silliness is a feature, not a bug! a garish, epic, & utterly singular $120 million self-portrait that's also a fable about the fall of ancient Rome & a plea to save our civilization (and its cinema) from itself. big fan.”
When presenting the story of the fall civilization, silliness is definitely warranted. Given the times we live in, it sounds about right.
The Los Angeles Times' Joshua Rothkopf may think the movies is overstuffed, but he wrote it out of a sense of thrill, He even went on to say that “only an uncharitable viewer would call it a catastrophe.”
Additionally, he agreed with Wise, “It's definitely not boring.” The Cannes Film Festival audience certainly didn't think so, according to The Hollywood Reporter, as they gave the movie a 10-minute standing ovation.
I need to add my favorite Megalopolis review so far: Robbie Collin of the UK's Daily Telegraph, who gave the film four stars. I'm always appreciative when people describe something using something else.
For example, for Collin, Megalopolis is “like Succession crossed with Batman Forever and a lava lamp.”
I get the Succession reference when the film critic praised Aubrey Plaza's performance, writing that the actress “is fantastic in this full-body sensory bath movie which follows a struggle among the elites of New Rome.”
Since I haven't seen the movie, I can only refer to the trailer. But I do get where the equation Succession x Batman Forever x lava lamp comes from. Succession is from all the rich people fighting among themselves. Batman Forever comes from the many costumed characters. As for the lava lamp, I'm sure it comes from the sumptuous colors in the film.
However, no movie is perfect. Not even Megalopolis. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw only gave it two stars.
“Coppola's passion project is megabloated and megaboring,” he wrote. The critic also calls the film “bafflingly shallow.”
But these are critics. Most of the time, their opinions on movies hardly ever mesh with the audience's. I believe the true test of Coppola's Megalopolis is when the masses get to see it.
As to when that will be? No details as of yet.
The film stars Adam Driver as the brilliant architect and scientist Caesar Catalina and his archnemesis, Mayor Franklyn Cicero. Also starring are Plaza as the financial news presenter Wow Platinum, Nathalie Emmanuel as the mayor's pill-popping party girl daughter, Julia; Shia LeBeouf as Cesar's cousin and a degenerate dandy Clodio Pulcher; and Jon Voight as Cesar's wealthy uncle Hamilton Crassus III.
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