2024 has seen legendary directors take massive gambles on themselves, only to become examples of why using your own money is never an ideal way to make a movie. Over the summer, Kevin Costner attempted to remind viewers of the past with the beginning of his epic western series, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1. The film failed to make its money back, resulting in the rest of the saga being dissolved.  Following right behind Costner is Francis Ford Coppola, who similarly attempted to present audiences with the future of filmmaking with his epic and ambitious fable, Megalopolis. 

Megaflopolis

Megalopolis follows Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), an artist and architect in the city of New Rome. In an attempt to build a utopian society, Cesar finds himself in conflict with the city’s mayor, Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who commits himself to keeping the city from progressing forward. Caught in the middle of the conflict is Cicero’s daughter, Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), who originally sought to spy and disrupt Cesar’s efforts to build his futuristic city before beginning a relationship with Cesar. 

Legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, the creative force behind The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and The Outsiders, wrote and directed Megalopolis. Self-financing the movie after selling his winery, Coppola was able to gather together an impressive line-up of stars including  Shia LaBeouf, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, and more. With a price tag of $120 million, Megalopolis was a box-office bomb during its opening weekend only earning $4 million, coming in sixth place. Megalopolis being a box office bomb is one sign of the movie not connecting with the majority of audience members. Thus, marking one of Coppola’s worst performances in his career. 

Hope for the Future

It’s no secret that movies are subjective. Every movie hits people differently, with every movie connecting with viewers differently. While Megalopolis has plenty of issues that hold it back from being among Coppola’s finest films, there are still plenty of components that hold the movie up. The basic concept of trying to compare the fall of Rome to current-day America is a timely tale to explore, one that’s oddly more relevant today versus back in the 80s when the original concept for this movie was conceived. Through the parallels between modern-day and ancient Rome, Coppola is able to find ways to teach audiences lessons on how modern civilization can prevent suffering a similar fate, all without feeling too preachy. Instead of being a dreary cautionary tale, Megalopolis presents a hopeful look toward the future, giving viewers something to strive for.

Being a futuristic science fiction film, Megalopolis designs a unique world through the city of New Rome. Since Megalopolis draws comparisons from America to ancient Rome, the movie blends the cultures to create a unique look at a dystopian society. At times, it’s an interesting approach that is clever and fun, whereas other times it’s obnoxious with how far the film goes with the symbolism. 

Some characters wear modern clothing, whereas others will wear Roman tunics and what appear to be corona civica crowns (wreath-like headwear made of oak leaves). Several examples of architecture also resemble ancient Rome, which helps immerse viewers into an other-worldly feel. Nevertheless, the movie also feels like it goes too far, such as naming the city New Rome and having a literal Colosseum with chariot racing and gladiator fights. These aspects felt like they pushed the Roman elements too far and overpowered the film, drowning out the American elements.