#TIFF24: “MEGALOPOLIS” REVIEW

By David Baldwin

Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) is a brilliant and obscenely wealthy architect who can harness time itself and has grand plans for the future of New Rome (which not so inconspicuously looks like what we call New York). His latest project which he dubs Megalopolis has made him a thorn in the side of the city’s mayor Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito). The animosity the pair have for one another is further exacerbated when Cesar falls in love with Cicero’s daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel of Game of Thrones and the Fast franchise).

That description only hints at the wonder and madness housed within MEGALOPOLIS, legendary Oscar-winning Writer/Director Francis Ford Coppola’s long-gestating passion project that has become one of the most-talked-about films of the year. I was not quite sure what to make of the film and days after seeing it, am still very much speechless when it comes to describing my feelings about the final product.

What I can say is this: MEGALOPOLIS is big, bold, brash filmmaking that is uncompromised in terms of vision and scope. It is unlike anything you will likely ever see and stands in sharp contrast to any “epic” film made over the past fifty years. The dialogue can become rather dicey even at the best of times, but Coppola’s grasp of the Film’s visual language is staggeringly unique and often downright beautiful. It deftly blends practical with artificial and practically explodes with its use of vivid colours and sumptuous costuming. For better or worse, we will never see a film like this come out of the American cinema system ever again. Full stop.

That may sound like typical festival hyperbole, but no film can even come close to matching the audacity of MEGALOPOLIS. Like what other film can boast about containing chariot races, Shia LeBeouf dressed in ancient Roman drag, and Jon Voight commenting on the size of his “boner”? What other film stops dead in order for someone to pop out of the audience and literally speak to Adam Driver on-screen for an extended period of time? I am not kidding about any of this – it all happens and somehow these are not the most ludicrous examples of what Coppola was able to sneak into this film.

Acting wise, everyone is all over the map putting in ranging from subtle, controlled work to wildly animated, over-the-top insanity. Everyone is committed to the bit here and to Coppola’s incredible vision. For my money, the clear standout is Aubrey Plaza, who plays the scheming TV personality Wow Platinum (yes, that is seriously her character’s name). She commands the screen with every breath and overshadows nearly everyone with her certifiably deranged performance. It may border on being a little too campy, but in a movie like this, fits in rather snuggly alongside every other crazy thing around her and needs to be seen to be believed.

MEGALOPOLIS screens at TIFF’ 24:

Monday, September 9 at 9:30PM at Roy Thomson Hall

Tuesday, September 10 at 8:00PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto