25/23
The city of Nova Roma is pitted against Cesar Catilina, a brilliant artist who advocates a utopian future, and the greedy mayor Franklyn Cicero. Between them is Julia Cicero, whose loyalties are divided between her father and her lover. Francis Ford Coppola wrote the script in the early 1980s, but the film was shelved, in part due to his financial debts. Pre-production finally began in 2001, after shooting 30 hours of second unit footage and holding a table read with Paul Newman, Uma Thurman, Robert De Niro, James Gandolfini, Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Edie Falco and Kevin Spacey, but the project was canceled after the September 11 attacks, because of a scene in the script (page 166); “foreshadowed” the attacks. At 40:12, the tool in Catilina’s hand changes color without him moving. Caesar Catilina: *You* want to help me? Julia Cicero: Yes. And, well, I… well, I want to learn. Caesar Catilina: And you think that a year of… medical school gives you the right to explore the riches of my Emersonian mind? Julia Cicero: Does that give me the right? Julia Cicero: [scoffs] Gives me the right? Caesar Catilina: Yes! Julia Cicero: Gives me the right? Caesar Catilina: YEEEEEEES! Julia Cicero: You have no idea about me! Caesar Catilina: No, nothing, but I reserve my time for those who know how to think. About science. And literature, and… architecture and art. Do you think I’m cruel, selfish, and insensitive? I am. I work without caring what happens to any of us. So go back to the club, find out everything, and pursue the kind of people you like. Julia Cicero: Fine! I will. Caesar Catilina: Come back when you have more time!. The “Ultimate IMAX Experience” version of the film features a live actor asking questions during the filmed press conference Explained (2024). My Pledge, written by Grace VanderWaal, performed by Grace VanderWaal, courtesy of Columbia Records, produced and orchestrated by Kris Kukul. It’s the big break everyone said it was, and an immensely interesting mess. For everything that works in Megalopolis, there’s something that doesn’t. Parts of it are very creative and different from everything else, and then there are long stretches that are completely boring. It’s 138 minutes long, but it feels like it’s pushing the three-hour mark. Whether that makes it feel appropriately epic or often tedious will probably depend on the viewer. Coppola is trying to say a lot in one movie, and as a result, much of it comes off as nonsensical. There were a few moments during the film where I wondered if it was all a joke. It could mean a lot to him, or maybe it only means parts of it and the rest of the time he’s laughing at us. There’s a certain balance here between the fun and the boring. Visuals that look impressive sit alongside visually gaudy set pieces. It’s a film that moviegoers will talk about and remember, while 99% of the population will continue to live their lives in blissful ignorance of its existence. The happy many or the bewildered 1%. I can’t offer any advice to anyone thinking of devoting 138 minutes of their finite time to it. I’m glad I saw it, and I also think it was a waste of time. From Alien: Romulus to Road House, check out some of our favorite posters of 2024.