While the return of the 85-year-old filmmaker to the Croisette was presented as an event, the film did not live up to expectations, quite the contrary. Our review.
But what happened to Francis Ford Coppola ? The filmmaker presented his latest film this Thursday evening, Megalopolis, world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. And if the filmmaker is revered for several films in his filmography, the trilogy of Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Dracula And Secret Conversationshe probably won’t be for his new film.
Megalopolis presents itself as a Roman fable, a futuristic story in which two visions of the city of tomorrow oppose each other: that, idealistic and innovative, of a brilliant and ambitious architect, and those of an avant-garde mayor resistant to change or populist and corrupt careerists. And in the middle of it all is the mayor’s daughter, who is trying to reconcile the views of her father and this architect.
On paper, Megalopolis aroused curiosity and seemed very promising in its desire to transpose Catiline’s conspiracy into our modern society. But the execution is totally flawed. First of all, the writing is pompous. Under its grand air of talking about the decadence of American society and the morality of men, the film is drowning in clichés, served by a portentous voice-over and mannered dialogues.
Indigestible tote
In terms of staging, unfortunately it’s not better. The few good ideas distilled there and which manage to surprise are drowned in an indigestible and pretentious catch-all. The fault, too, is often botched special effects and corny style effects. The casting, attractive on paper once again, is not enough to save the film, and some only serve as extras, like Jason Schwartzmann or Dustin Hoffmann.
For a film that claims to be futuristic, Megalopolis is already dated, and the screening was punctuated by several mocking laughs. It is difficult to understand how a project that had been in the works for several decades and was so anticipated could have given rise to such a disaster. If the name was not Coppola’s, one wonders if Megalopolis would really have been selected in competition at Cannes.
Synopsis – Megalopolis is a Roman epic set in an imaginary modern America in full decadence. The city of New Rome absolutely must change, which creates a major conflict between Caesar Catilina, a genius artist with the power to stop time, and the arch-conservative mayor Franklyn Cicero. The first dreams of an ideal utopian future while the second remains very attached to a regressive status quo protective of greed, privilege and private militias. The mayor’s daughter and jet-setter Julia Cicero, in love with César Catilina, is torn between the two men and will have to discover what seems best for the future of humanity.
A crazy casting and a still unclear release date
Even if Megalopolis does not win the Palme d’Or at the next Cannes Film Festival, the climb up the steps before the screening of the film will certainly be spectacular. In the casting of the film, we find huge names, like Adam Driver (Star Wars), Nathalie Emmanuel (Game Of Thrones), Dustin Hoffman (The winner), Shia Labeouf (transformers), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Laurence Fishburne (Matrix), Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) or Jason Schwartzman (HAS Board of Darjeeling Limited). Just that !
For now, the release date has not been officially announced. According to information from Point, a cinema release in France next September has been mentioned, but nothing precise or official yet. It must be said that, while the project is certainly ambitious, its commercial potential is still very uncertain. What is certain is that the Cannes public will discover it this Thursday, May 16 and that the film is scheduled to be released in 2024.