I finally was able to see Megalopolis. At the time it was not available digitally so I had actually been considering buying a Blu-ray just to be able to watch it! But it turns out that I could watch it on a flight. A little unfortunate for such a visual film, but we make do.
I’m still kinda chewing on it, but I think that it’s clear it’s not a masterpiece. The idea I keep coming back to is that it’s supposed to be about making the movie itself, with the titular Megalopolis being a metaphor for the making of the film. Caesar (Adam Driver) is a genius architect whose vision for a utopia is misunderstood by everyone else, who try to stop him. This parallels Coppola’s vision of the film: his ultimate film which will be hugely successful if only people will let him make it. The main difference is that Caesar ultimately succeeds, whereas Coppola pretty much didn’t.
The plot itself has a lot of moving parts, mostly for the worse. There’s several reveals, betrayals, and twists which don’t really work because of lack setup, clear stakes, or both. Several of the conflicts get introduced in one scene and then resolved in the next one. Even the ones that make more sense tend to be underdeveloped.
That all being said, it almost succeeds on a level of pure camp. Jon Voight in particular knows exactly what he’s doing. This is especially clear in the scene where it pretends an arrow is his erection and then reveals it, subsequently shooting two other characters. The hilariously unsubtle mishmash of a contemporary and Roman aesthetic becomes almost charming. Everything Aubrey Plaza is doing is extremely entertaining. Everything Shia LaBeouf is doing is at least interesting to watch.
Overall I’m glad this movie exists and I’m glad I saw it. It’s a bit hard to recommend unless you’re looking for a fairly specific type of trainwreck, though.