I still can’t forget about the worst film I have ever seen

It’s nary astonishment Francis Ford Coppola wanted to premiere his latest cinematic effort Megalopolis astatine the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.

It’s conscionable a shame that with his $120,000,000 comeback movie Megalopolis, he’s made perchance 1 of the worst films I’ve ever seen.

And I accidental that with the top of respect for the legendary, Oscar-winning auteur.

I inactive can’t halt reasoning astir it, weeks on.

Alongside the triumphs of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, he’s had different misses successful his vocation similar One From the Heart.

That’s what happens erstwhile you take chaotic swings – an admirable prime successful and of itself – but Megalopolis is by acold the astir startling, expansive and astatine times incomprehensible movie that he’s made.

The baffled buzz implicit Coppola’s film, his archetypal modular (well, arsenic overmuch arsenic helium gets) accumulation since 2011’s Twixt, kicked disconnected successful March aft its unveiling to the movie industry.

Reports followed that it was ‘bats**t’ with manufacture insiders predicting Coppola’s autarkic flick would conflict to find distribution, which it has. That came crossed arsenic utterly ridiculous to the director’s fans – but having seen it, I tin recognize the confusion.

It’s a feat to wholly interruption with normal erstwhile it comes to a film, for which Coppola should beryllium applauded – and besides helps constituent to the polarised reception Megalopolis has received. Some radical loved it!

But for me, the crippled holes were excessively gaping and the connection excessively muddled, successful a movie that attempts to span medicine, engineering, history, sociology, authorities and sci-fi, to sanction but a fewer tiny concepts.

Coppola’s passionateness task Megalopolis has been successful the making since the 1980s – and unfortunately, it shows.

Megalopolis is simply a heavy Roman-inspired epic acceptable successful an imagined modern America wherever a genius designer called Cesar Catalina (Driver) seeks to physique a utopian, idealistic aboriginal for New Rome portion butting horns with arch-conservative mayor, Franklyn Cicero (Esposito).

And not that it appears to person overmuch interaction connected the film, but Driver’s Cesar tin halt time, arsenic you do.

The gag has been made that it’s wide Coppola thinks astir the Roman Empire aggregate times a day, and has been for the past 40 oregon truthful years. This is evident successful the women’s draping dresses, Driver’s haircut and the baffling quality of Shia LaBeouf, who goes afloat retired with his classical costume erstwhile helium opts to crossdress for a expansive solemnisation – conscionable 1 of galore things that’s not decently explained.

Adam Driver commits to his cardinal relation arsenic Cesar, who is supposedly our leader but decidedly unsympathetic. Frequently lauded arsenic a genius, his plans to make his metropolis are to uphold the downtrodden – but his ego and curtness look somewhat astatine likelihood with this.

As an actor, Driver is asked to gamely nutrient breakdowns, an aggravated convulsing acceptable and adjacent contend with losing portion of his face. But adjacent wrong the chaotic and confusing vigor of a movie similar Megalopolis, these bold choices don’t ever land. A cleanable illustration of this is the mode helium decides to chastise Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the party-girl girl of his rival, for spending clip ‘in da cluuub’, conscionable similar 50 Cent commented connected successful 2003.

Emmanuel for her portion holds her ain successful the starry ensemble portion – besides featuring Laurence Fishburne, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight and Aubrey Plaza – offering a earthy performance, contempt the unusual deficiency of quality improvement and Julia’s abrupt determination to prosecute a narration with Driver’s Cesar.

Esposito makes for a worthy adversary for Driver, afloat committed and astir Shakespearean successful his performance, lending a gravitas to Megalopolis that is not ever determination successful Coppola’s uneven and sometimes cringey dialogue. He’s supposedly the villain, but his humanity is overmuch much intact than that of Driver’s Cesar.

He besides brings down the location with 1 underplayed brow-raise erstwhile contending with the consequences of Cesar and his daughter’s relationship.

Plaza is possibly the standout successful the film, precise overmuch having already embraced the weird vigor that runs done Megalopolis successful her ain vocation – she appears wholly astatine location arsenic ruthless writer Wow Platinum (yes, truly), acceptable to usage her wiles successful immoderate mode to her champion advantage.

Voight excessively makes rather a splash arsenic banker Hamilton Crassus III, the richest antheral successful New Rome, putting successful a… vigorous performance. He besides plays a plumb relation successful the film’s astir astonishing country – and that’s saying thing successful Megalopolis.

As an actor, it’s perfectly understandable that you would instrumentality the telephone of idiosyncratic similar Francis Ford Coppola and simply anticipation it turned retired for the best. Even if it didn’t successful this case, alas.

However, contempt everything I person recovered responsibility with, I would promote arsenic galore radical arsenic imaginable to spot Megalopolis.

It’s an ambitious task dissimilar thing I’ve seen before, which is definite to provoke ferocious debate.

Many person already praised it and, careless of thing else, it is simply a feat to behold. Coppola said what the hell, embraced the risk, and did what helium wanted.

There’s besides each accidental I’ll look foolish erstwhile awards play comes astir and Hollywood decides to honour Coppola, who has ever been a visionary.

I won’t begrudge it, but I uncertainty I’ll devour my words.

Megalopolis is retired successful the UK and Ireland now.

This nonfiction was primitively published connected May 17, 2024.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a personage story, video oregon pictures get successful interaction with the Metro.co.uk amusement squad by emailing america [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 oregon by visiting our Submit Stuff leafage – we’d emotion to perceive from you.

MORE : Debate implicit colour of iconic 90s formal has yet been settled

MORE : Chappell Roan cancels play festival performances aft ‘overwhelming’ fewer weeks

MORE : Oscar nominee reveals she wants to beryllium successful James Bond – but connected 1 condition