The Mosley Review: Megalopolis
The return of any legendary storyteller in cinema is always welcomed with eyes wide open. To see them return to the medium with a passion project that is all the more bold and different, is also a treat. Francis Ford Coppola is one of those living legends that to this day, his films are revered and studied in many a film school classroom. He now returns to the silver screen with a challenging and somewhat baffling fable/epic that is both gorgeous and almost indescribable. At the service level, it is a modern Roman tale of creation, capitilism, greed and debauchery located in the grand backdrop of New York City aptly named New Rome. Its quite brilliant and unrelenting in its depiction of honestly, our world as we know it. At a deeper layer, there was also a psychological level of mind-bending effects and how the world revolved or even worked around the central character. Does he have powers to stop time or are we passengers on a massive trip through an architect’s mind? Like I said, its baffling and yet fascinating. The film was bonkers at times as it got convoluted in the middle of the political plots and noir style of reveals. If you're not focused on the story, you're gonna be lost and you may not have anything or anyone to pull you back in.
Adam Driver leads the story as the ever ambitious and creative architect Cesar Catilina and he was absolutely fantastic. He delivers every monologue with a shakespearean cadence and depth. It may seem like alot of word vomit from Cesar at times, but when you actually look at the subtext, he's quite inspiring even if he is almost detached from his own sense of humanity. There was a level of vulnerability that gets explored mid way through the film that defines the character and I loved seeing Adam expertly navigate the many directions the character goes through. Laurence Fishburne was fun and slick as the film's narrator and Cesar's driver, Fundi Romaine. Giancarlo Esposito was fantastic and boisterous as Mayor of New Rome, Franklyn Cicero. The rivalry between him and Cesar was the core of the film and I liked seeing their political game of tug of war. There is deeper layer to their rivalry that was pretty dark and somewhat doesn't get resolved in the most predictable fashion which was nice for a change. Natalie Emmanuel was outstanding as Cicero's daughter, Julia. I loved the rather quick turn from the debauchery that leads to the fascinating chemistry she develops with Cesar. The way the two of them connect was interesting and sparked the many questions of possible super powers in their dreamlike romance. Aubrey Plaza was great as the power hungry and greedy talk show host, Wow Platinum. You could see her fighting for relevance and how the desire for power can corrupt in the most absolutes. Shia LaBeouf gives and energetic, devilish and sometimes sinister performance as Cesar's extremely jealous cousin, Clodio Pulcher. He embodied the spoiled rich kid that never had to earn anything and just lives in that untouchable bubble. Its not until he finally has that bubble popped for him that he realizes that he needed to be more. Jon Voight was great as Cesar's wealthy uncle and Clodio's father, Hamilton Crassus III. The swiftness in which he goes from respected to a pariah was fascinating and had a somewhat hilarious and yet satisfying end.
The score by Osvaldo Golijov was grandiose, noir fueled and full of wonder in the best ways. The vast visuals of the future city of Megalopolis was punctuated by dreamlike sound and the more somber and romantic moments of the film were brought home by the noir sound of the saxophone. As I said before, the visuals in this film are stunning as its generous use of golden ambers and striking blacks was beautiful to witness on the IMAX screen. This film requires a lot of focus and can be absolutely confusing if you're not paying attention to what is being said. It doesn't reinvent the wheel per say, but it was a very unique take on Roman history and in essence how it repeats itself. This was a film that I had to sit with for a second to actually cobble together what I just watched. Its not for everyone and many will say it was boring or didn't make sense. All are are valid, but I will say that this is a film for the cinephiles of the world. Its an old school, high concept type of film that maybe in a few years, many will circle back to it and re-analyze. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
