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It’s hard to deny the sort of impact that Francis Ford Coppola has left on the cinematic landscape through its history. So it only fits that someone like him, who has revolutionized cinema history with films like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now would try and find ways to change our perceptions of what was possible with the craft could attempt such a feat once again. But with knowing how long this project has been sought after by Francis Ford Coppola, one can only imagine what this long wait between its conception to its eventual making and release would have in store for us. The end result of it all is that you’ll have watched something particularly distinctive in today’s age. For what it was, I dug it.

As Francis Ford Coppola himself has envisioned this film, it is to be seen as an American fable – one which draws comparisons to ancient Rome, and the setting of Megalopolis makes that as blunt as ever. The film is set in New Rome, a decaying metropolis not too far off from the likes of New York City. Because of this societal decay, the charismatic architect Cesar Catalina (Adam Driver) has plans to rebuild the city through a sustainable material called Megalon, despite opposition from New Rome’s conservative mayor Frank Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito). Parallels are especially apparent with noting how Coppola has named his two leads, but that also happens to be part of why Megalopolis stands out as a particular anomaly within the present-day cinematic landscape.

Moving away from the studio system and funding this movie entirely from his own pocket, it’s easy to see where Francis Ford Coppola’s own ambitions as an artist would take him, especially with creating the world of New Rome as we’re seeing it on the screen. It only goes without saying that this movie looks nothing like you would ever expect for most films that are made with the amount of money that had been spent on this movie’s production of $120 million. But to see how such a world was brought to life on the screen might only be one among the most impressive things that Coppola could offer at his age, because it all results in a very dreamlike feeling for this movie.

For better or worse, the fact that this movie had been conceived prior to the release of Apocalypse Now is something that can be felt. Most of the ideas presented in Megalopolis are innately tied back towards classic literature and the history of ancient Rome, especially as it’s evident that this is how Francis Ford Coppola sees the turn of the century as many are unprepared for the future to come. But I think that even with this rocky, unpolished foundation, it’s still very oddly fascinating. It’s fascinating just for the very reasons that make it confounding, especially with the knowledge that Coppola is someone who seeks to change how we perceive what’s possible through film. Whether you like it or not, that it all comes together in this manner is undoubtedly unique.

That’s not to say it always works, because even as Megalopolis gets lost in its own ideas for reasons that we stick with it, it’s still confounding for reasons that are just frustrating. It’s frustrating because it feels like it has one semblance of an idea with potential, before it is abandoned in the next scene. Which perhaps fits with Megalopolis being a movie all about going out with the old and in with the new, but it’s also hard to pinpoint where exactly this movie would go from scene to scene as it keeps moving forth.

All this even comes down to a point where we see a scene in which Cesar breaks the fourth wall to talk to a man who comes to the stage in the movie theater. It’s a fascinating moment by pure concept, but in this moment it’s also where we get to see Adam Driver taking full command of the screen, especially as his opportunism becomes his own worst enemy. Through most of the movie, we’re introduced to himself as a fascinating figure who knows how to forge a path for himself, despite opposition from Giancarlo Esposito’s Frank Cicero – but this isn’t so much a story about good or bad, it’s a movie where people are completely unprepared to grapple with what they’ll be unleashing.

Even then, I can’t help but find that with all the oddities present in this film, the cast are mostly excellent. Adam Driver continues to be one of the most compelling of any screen presence in today’s age, especially because he can always command your attention from the moment he first speaks. But he also seems to be at peace with the many oddities that would alienate the sensibilities of most viewers here, which shows the film’s most distinct idiosyncrasies all across the board. Aubrey Plaza, whose character is given the strange name of Wow Platinum, also shows herself to be on board with such oddities – meanwhile other cast members like Shia LaBeouf and Jon Voight stick out like sore thumbs as the film’s obvious weak points.

One can’t really deny coming out of Megalpolis that it’s a vision that indeed feels so singular. That might be reason enough to go ahead and watch it, but you can only expect that people around you will not have a solidly unanimous response. That a movie like this could be made with such a high budget today is especially astonishing, but for Francis Ford Coppola, the pursuit of a project like Megalopolis is less about making a return at the box office as much as it is about the pursuit of an impossible dream. Every minute of this movie feels so dear to Coppola, as he’s revolutionized cinema history all through time, and the fact it even came together is something monumental. And for that alone, I admire what it stands for.

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Watch the trailer right here.

All images via Lionsgate.

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Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola
Produced by Barry Hirsch, Fred Roos, Michael Bederman, Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman
Premiere Date: May 16, 2024 (Cannes)
Running Time: 138 minutes