‘Megalopolis’ is an Experience
Adam Driver in Megalopolis | Credit: Lionsgate Films
Megalopolis takes us into the future, to a city called New Rome, where we see the political and cultural dynamics that are present. We meet a large cast of characters who are trying their best to get by, using any means necessary to get what they want.
I feel so conflicted about this film. On the one hand, it’s creative and exciting in a way that you don’t often see. This is not a safe movie by any means, and I want to celebrate that willingness to just go for it.
The visual components of Megalopolis are largely stunning. I was in awe of the costume design in particular. In this film, everyone’s clothing is exquisite and a perfect combination of Roman aesthetics mixed with modern fashion trends. Each piece of clothing is also effective in revealing something about the wearer, their personality, and station in life.
There are so many creative moments, especially when we’re taken into Cesar’s (Adam Driver) inner world. We can see these really fascinating and beautifully imagined worlds that he has dreamed up. There’s a particularly evocative moment when he’s sitting on a white I-beam suspended somehow above the city below. He and Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) have a conversation while floating in the air, and it is fascinating to watch. The setting and the cinematography evoke such wonder in that moment. And there are plenty of scenes like this throughout the film.
I really love all of these really creative moments. When I reflect back on the film, I want to think deeply about the visuals and the world that Francis Ford Coppola and the team created. Unfortunately, I think Megalopolis is let down by the screenplay.
Nathalie Emmanuel and Adam Driver in Megalopolis | Credit: Lionsgate Films
I have a couple of main complaints when it comes to this film, and they largely come down to the plot and the dialogue. Many of the other components in this film are rather good. The visuals are stunning (as I’ve already said) and a stellar cast gives fully committed performances. There’s so much good here, but I think the story lets it down.
I think that Megalopolis suffers from being over-stuffed. Francis Ford Coppola has been thinking about this film for decades, and I can’t help but wonder if, over the years, he just added more and more to it. Did this become a catch-all for a lot of really relevant themes to our world today?
While there’s nothing wrong with having many themes, I think that this story really buckles under the weight of all of the characters and themes. There’s just so much going on that I found it difficult to focus on anything in particular. And I left the theater feeling so overwhelmed that I didn’t want to think deeply about any of the themes presented because there were just too many.
I think another struggle is that there are so many characters that we follow throughout this movie. If there had been one central protagonist that we followed through a relatively straightforward story, I think that might’ve helped this film.
As I’ve reflected on Megalopolis, I’ve thought about Poor Things and Saltburn. All three of these movies are polarizing and weird, and I left each theater experience thinking, ‘What did I just watch?!’ But I think that Poor Things and Saltburn are both more effective because their stories are simpler.
Poor Things is a coming-of-age story, which is a tried and true structure that we’ve all experienced before. All of the creative worldbuilding, strange visuals, and relevant themes are layered on top of that pretty straightforward plot.
Saltburn is similar. It’s an eat-the-rich story, which is another type of film that we’ve all seen before. Even if we don’t have a full understanding of the story, we know the general direction it’s heading in.
In both of these cases, we know this type of story structure and it centers on one main protagonist, so we know who we’re following and roughly where we’re following them to. This makes it a bit easier to take in these films, as odd as the both are.
Megalopolis I think suffers from having a complex story, too many characters, larger-than-life worldbuilding, and a lot of themes to explore. It’s just too much for one movie.
Nathalie Emmanuel and Adam Driver in Megalopolis | Credit: Lionsgate Films
My other big complaint about Megalopolis is the dialogue. No one in this film speaks like a human being, which means that there were certain lines that I laughed at, even though I don’t think they were supposed to be funny. The dialogue for the female characters, in particular, was laughably bad.
So, for me Megalopolis is a bit of a mixed bag. I really wanted to like this film, but I struggled while watching it. I was captivated by the visuals on the screen and wowed by the creativity, but the story felt like a letdown. I walked away from this film really confused about what I just watched and what Francis Ford Coppola was trying to communicate in his grand self-funded epic.
I have a feeling that I’ll probably watch this film again once (or if) it comes to streaming. I’m curious to see if this is a film that improves after a second watch or if I will leave just as confused.