Megalopolis
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
- science fiction
- drama
- fantasy
The story
In a futuristic New York known as New Rome, visionary architect Cesar Catilina dreams of building "Megalopolis," a utopian city that redefines society’s limits. Opposing him is the corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who clings to power and profit. Between them stands Julia, the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar forces her to choose between loyalty, ambition, and the fate of humanity.
What it’s like
Gilded, theatrical images shot with a deliberately old-Hollywood sensibility: sepia-warm interiors, marble halls lit like oil paintings, and a New York that blends Roman colonnades with glossy futurist towers. Rapid wipes, split screens, freeze-frames and stylised dissolves keep the camera restless, and a lush, operatic orchestral score swells over long passages of talk. The vibe is grand, ornate and slightly feverish, a dream of civic ambition that tips into decadence and corruption, best suited to a late night when you want to be swept up in something over-the-top rather than soothed. The pacing is dense and uneven, the register sincere and melodramatic, with characters who are idealists, schemers and lovers pulled between their ambitions and their desires. Intensity is moderate: there are attempted murder, a suicide, political violence and infidelity, handled with stylised restraint rather than gore, but the tension can feel sharp. It suits viewers who love maximalist, operatic filmmaking, grand ideas about cities and power, and visual experimentation, and who can tolerate a sprawling, unruly rhythm.
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