On Screen: “Megalopolis”
Megalopolis
Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project “Megalopolis” is a futuristic fable about the downfall of the American Empire.
The 85 year-old auteur envisioned the dystopian concept 40 years ago, writing, revising and re-casting it, spending $120 million to make it, using funds he’d made from “Apocalypse Now,” “The Godfather,” etc., and his California wine business.
Adam Driver stars as Cesar Catilina, a visionary architect who dreams of utilizing a miraculous material called Megalon to build an experimental Utopia from the ruins of New Rome (obviously allegorical New York City, since the familiar Chrysler Building is an Art Deco centerpiece).
But Cesar must convince corrupt Mayor Franklin Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) whose rebellious daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) he’s dating. And face ‘concrete’ opposition from Nush Berman (Dustin Hoffman) — as explained by narrator Fundi Romaine (Laurence Fishburne).
Inexplicably, Cesar has the ability to freeze everything and everyone in place by ordering: “Stop, time!” But that’s the limit of his supernatural powers.
According to Coppola, who consulted with “S.P.Q.R: A History of Ancient Rome” historian Mary Beard, Cesar’s turbulent coup can be traced back to Rome’s Catilinarian conspiracy of 63 B.C.E.
Lecherous old Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight) represents greed, while his duplicitous grandson Clodio (Shia LaBoeuf) epitomizes ambition — as the inherent debauchery is caustically chronicled by financial reporter Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza) on her “Money Bunny” TV show.
Archaic references to the fall of Rome are everywhere, along with Shakespearean dialogue, peppered with quotes from Greek-Roman-Sapphic poets. Driver even delivers Hamlet’s famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy in its entirety.
Filmed in Atlanta, whatever credit there is goes to cinematographer Mihai Malaimare, Jr., who creates some indelible CGI imagery.
The film is dedicated to his wife, documentarian Eleanor Coppola, who died in April 2024, and indulgently features several other Coppola family members, including his sister, Talia Shire, and nephews Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola. Only Nicolas Cage escaped.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Megalopolis” is an illogical, incoherent 2 — playing in theaters.
Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.
As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.
During her adult life, Susan has been on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie and drama critic, syndicating her reviews and articles around the world, including Video Librarian. She has appeared on American Movie Classics and Turner Classic Movies. In 2017, her book 150 Timeless Movies was published by Hannacroix Creek Books. Her website is www.susangranger.com.