Megalopolis Review!

Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis: A Fable is a phantasmagoria of look into a future, a Bosch-like chaos of the modern world’s fame, violence, and sex, challenging, with a message of hope. Francis Ford Coppola is the writer and director producing a vision that has taken him around forty years and his own money to bring to the screen. We see the cityscape that moves to the Chrysler Building, the world’s first skyscraper, with its 1930s spire. There is the narration by Laurence Fishburne. He plays Fundi Romaine, the assistant who documents the rise of Megalopolis. Fishburne collaborated with Coppola on his first film, Apocalypse Now (1979), and also The Cotton Club (1984). We get a closeup of Adam Driver’s face who plays Cesar Catilina. This is Driver's first work with Coppola and his last film was Ferrari (2023). Cesar's last name points to the Catilinarian conspiracy with the attempt to topple the Roman Empire. 

Out of a triangle window of the top floor, the reflection of the sun is golden, Cesar walks out in black suit and boots. The clouds race across the sunset sky sped up as Cesar slides to the edge of the building. He reaches out with his right boot, then suddenly slips down, Cesar yells, “Time! Stop!” His arms are crossed over his face, then he looks below to the street frozen in time. Cesar shifts back onto the building. He snaps his fingers and the street starts to move. Cesar looks around almost with new eyes. We hear a clock ticking, time, as there is the Milky Way galaxy that moves to the Earth. There is a CCCP, Russian, satellite that passes by. The title card reads New Rome, Third Mellennium, 21st century. The setting reflects on our time, but gives it the patina of history and future. We see a wild party, Clodia Pulcher (Chloe Fineman) is dancing with Julia Cicero played by Nathalie Emmanuel. Fineman is known for Saturday Night Live and appeared as Marion Davies in Babylon (2022). Emmnuel is in this year’s action remake, The Killer, and also known for playing Missandei in Game of Thrones. 

On a horse statue is Clodio Pulcher played by Shia LaBeouf who also starred in the lead role of the bio film Padre Pio (2022). It is an eccentric performance that is perfect, capturing the wildness of a party guy, but driven by ambition. Julia brings Clodia to see Commissioner Stanley Hart (D.B. Sweeney) who has arrived to take her home. Sweeney was in the drama, Gardens of Stone (1987).  Clodio is obsessed with Julia, but this is a passing fancy. At his office reading the headline, “Mayor’s Wild Daughter”, is Mayor Franklyn Cicero played by Giancarlo Esposito. Other parts by Esposito include Cotton Club and also starred as Lambert in Abigail. His mayor wants thing to be controlled and the same counter to Cesar’s city of the future. Cicero revealed the Caitrilian conspiracy. Julia is at a building clearing with many of the Design Authority personnel. She watches as Cesar stops the collapse of the building. This is making way for Megalopolis. Mayor Cicero is at the New York Public Library with classical architecture. His assistant is Jason Zanderz (Jason Schwartzman).  

The news reports that Cesar has won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of megalon, a new, indestructible material. Later, Fundi drives Cesar, and is told not to take the call of Wow. At a presentation, Mayor Cicero, Jason, and Nush Berman (Dustin Hoffman) enter. Hoffman starred in Midnight Cowboy (1969) and he was in the drama Sam & Kate (2022). They walk on wooden catwalks suspended above a city model. Julia also watches the presentation. We get the news telecast of the Money Bunny, Wow Platinum, played by Aubrey Plaza. Rio Vidal is played by Plaza in Agatha All Along. Her part is pure femme fatale, scheming and using her sexuality for her own ends. She interviews Hamilton Crasus III (Jon Voigt). This year’s thriller, Shadow Land, starred Voigt and he is also known for Midnight Cowboy. Crasus is the head of the bank. Cesar enters and recited the “To be, or not to be” speech from Hamlet about mortality. He introduces Megalopolis, "a city people can dream about", as the chairman of the Design Authority. Cesar accuses Mayor ciero as begin the "chief slumlord." 

Five+ Megalons out of Five! 

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