by Victoria Alexander
It’s a hardship to watch but I understand it is all Coppola’s ego and he had the extra $120 million to do it. It’s a Fentanyl-laced LSD hallucination. The problem is Adam Driver – he did exactly what he was told to do. I do not like to be sermonized by multi-millionaires.
If Coppola really wanted us to see it, why not give away thousands of free tickets? No one would complain about the movie then! But no, he wants his $120 million back through ticket sales.
I saw MEGALOPOLIS at an IMAX screening – a reserved row bought by the studio rep for press - at a crucible 2nd row seat from the screen. My eyes still hurt. The sound made my ears bleed. Why did they do that to the press they wanted to please? We were told to be there at 5:15pm. The pre-film sound used an “enhanced interrogation technique.”
Exactly the sound level Coppola demanded.
Before the film started, there was a 30-minute Q&A with Coppola, Robert De Niro and Spike Lee. The moderator was useless. All he wanted to know was how De Niro and Lee first met Coppola. Who cares? How about casting MEGALOPOLIS? The difficulties of filming? The purpose of the film? For a film with a running time of 2 hours, 18 minutes, why subject the audience to an additional 30 minutes of drivel? De Niro was there to condemn Trump. Lee was there because he was in the audience. He did use his brief time to campaign for doing a movie with De Niro. Lee and De Niro saw MEGALOPOLIS but were not asked what they thought about it.
De Niro is behind the billion dollar Wildflower Studios in Astoria, Queens. Coppola said he “sold a significant piece of his wine empire so that he could use a percentage of the sale as collateral for the line of credit to finally make the film.” That $120 million was just 20% of the sale price he got. So why not use that measly 20% to make the film he wanted?
It’s a vanity project and Coppola only used a tiny bit of his Empire as collateral to fund it through a bank.
Coppola’s sacrificial stand-in Adam Driver must have trusted his director without question. Or, did he do so many different takes that Coppola only used the most silly, embarrassing, laughable ones?
If a director doesn’t like you or you criticize him, this is how he gets his revenge.
Why did Coppola make his alter ego such a foolish, crying, character with a dream for Utopia that no one wanted? The poor were displaced and their buildings bombed because Cesar (Driver) needed the land. The city’s government and powerful did not like his ideas.
Cesar arrives on screen doing Hamlet’s “To be or not to be?” monologue. He does a great job making it conversational, but what does it mean to Megalopolis?
Cesar is ridiculous and Coppola has him photographed in horrendous close-ups. Driver is filmed so cruelly that it upsets the rhythm of the film. Do we really need to see the pores on his face throughout the film? Driver’s nose commands the screen.
Cesar goes from a domineering tech genius to a sobbing lunatic over his dead wife he pretends is still alive. He pantomimes kissing her! He has a mistress, Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza), who wants to marry him. But love is not an emotion Cesar has. Until he meets Mayor Franklyn’s (Giancarlo Esposito) daughter Julia (Natalie Emmanuel).
Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight), in the comedic role, walks off with the film in a hilarious scene.
Coppola throws in everything from the history of ancient Rome: Cesar’s unhappy relationship with his mother – Caligula killed his mother – obsession between the Mayor and his daughter, the Mayor’s son Clodio Pulcher (Shia LaBeouf) is based on Rome’s Emperor Caligula, who was sexually perverted and slept with his sisters and Emperor Elagabalus who presented as a woman.
Emperor Augustus first wife was Clodia Pulchra.
Cesar’s plans have a historical basis.
Seneca Village was a 19th-century settlement of mostly African American landowners in the borough of Manhattan. It was a community of approximately 225 residents, three churches, two schools, and three cemeteries. Seneca Village existed until 1857, when, through eminent domain, the villagers and other settlers in the area were forced to leave and their houses were torn down for the construction of Central Park.
The Great Mosque is the centerpiece of the holy city of Mecca, which is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the holiest city in Islam. The mosque's multiple levels and its expansion have transformed the city of Mecca. It’s called “religious tourism.” The residents have been moved for the construction of monstrous hotels and shopping malls for tens of thousands of pilgrims. Saudi’s Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan will increase the number of annual pilgrims visiting Mecca to 30 million.
Coppola does, for the first time I can remember, engage his actors in sex, primarily oral sex.
The plot cannot be summarized unless I add 2,000 more words. I am sure Coppola knew at some point the film was a mess because it is loaded with beautiful images as well as images of Hitler and civilization’s need for chaos. Finally, as a symbol of its absurdity – an Elvis Presley impersonator sings our national anthem. Because audiences demand it, there is a happy ending.
The ALL is Mind; The Universe is Mental.”
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Critic. For a complete list of Victoria Alexander's movie reviews on Rotten Tomatoes go to:
Contributing to: FilmsInReview: http://www.filmsinreview.com
Member of Las Vegas Film Critics Society
Personal email: victoria.alexander.lv@gmail.com
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