geezer cinema: megalopolis (francis ford coppola, 2024)
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Our local paper, The San Francisco Chronicle, managed to summarize Megalopolis via multiple reviews. First to speak was the paper's primary film critic, Mick LaSalle, who hadn't yet seen the picture when he called it "The movie to see this fall". His argument is that Francis Ford Coppola "is one of the greatest filmmakers who has ever lived", and thus a passion project from the master demands to be seen.
The main review, by G. Allen Johnson, said it was "One of the most polarizing movies of this or any other year, ... a gargantuan, epic vanity project unlike any other made." Johnson claims "it’s immaterial whether it’s good or bad", which is what a director can get away with when he is a legend.
But it was Drew Magary who may have gotten the attention of the most readers. Or at least his headline writer was on the ball: "'Megalopolis' is a piece of s—t". ("Do not see this movie. It is a piece of s—t.... This movie is unwatchable.")
If it's possible, they are all correct. It's a must-see movie. It's a polarizing vanity project. It's a piece of shit. And it probably doesn't matter if it's good or bad.
I'm not one for offering extended plot summaries when I write about movies, which is a good thing in this case, because Megalopolis doesn't make sense as you watch it, and makes even less sense afterwards when you think about it. It truly is one of a kind, and I know plenty of people who think that in itself makes it worth watching. It's got a great cast, although the situations and dialogue are often so stupid, the actors are wasted. (How about Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, my beloved Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, and Laurence Fishburne for starters?) I'm sure Coppola intended to make a great statement about ... well, I have no idea what he's about, but it's clearly great, whatever it is.
Last week, I saw Aubrey Plaza in My Old Ass. It was better than Megalopolis. So was Emily the Criminal, for that matter, and it had the benefit of Plaza in the lead role. Should you see Megalopolis? I don't know ... depends on if you trust the guy who said it was the movie to see, or the guy who called it a piece of shit. Or you could watch it and make up your own mind, but as Magary said, "You’ve been warned".
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