MEGALOPOLIS

Francis Ford Coppola’s long gestating passion project Megalopolis combines garish visuals, truly horrible dialogue and vapid, overripe themes into one of the most unwatchable films of the year.

Passion projects seldom live up to expectations but few miss the mark as far as Megalopolis does. The picture mixes classic Roman tragedy with contemporary American hubris and even sprinkles in some sci-fi, but the result is a rushed, incomprehensible, excruciatingly boring eyesore.

The plot (if you can call it that) centres around a visionary architect who wants to shape New York stand-in New Rome into a more liveable, egalitarian city but has to fend of totalitarian and populist forces who abhor his vision and want to stop him at any cost.

The kernels of Francis Ford Coppola’s fascination with this story are still recognisable in Megalopolis, as is his clear personal passion for an America that fulfils its promise, but in the execution he drops the ball badly. The movie is littered with pompous quotes and hammy dialogue, the scenes attempt nothing more than to hit perfunctory story beats as quickly as possible, and as for the actors: none of their performances look like they belong in the same film.

The most disappointing aspect of the film are the visuals though. There is no sign of the Coppola that gave us such visually innovative films like The Godfather, The Conversation or even Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Instead Megalopolis looks like the work of a talentless film school hack, with an aesthetic that isn’t far removed from a daytime soap, editing that muddles the story instead of clarifying it, and a digital sheen that is garish to look at throughout.

So while the title card of Megalopolis refers to the film as a fable, it would be better to call it a 120 million dollar folly, and one that severely tarnishes Coppola’s legacy to boot.

release: 2024

director: Francis Ford Coppola

starring: Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito