“Megalopolis: "terrible nanar" or "unique" ? Criticism divided by the last Coppola”
Réalisé par : Francis Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola Avec : Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf , Jon Voight Genre : Film de Science-Fiction Sorti en 25/09/2024 Durée 02h18 4 /5 (7 avis) Donnez votre avis Synopsis Voir la bande-annonce Trouver une séance Vos avis
Acclaimed or criticized, Francis Ford Coppola's latest film is far from unanimous and provokes very strong reactions. “Megalopolis” was released in theaters this Wednesday.
It is probably the film that has sparked the most debate at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Presented in official competition, Megalopolis signaled the return of Francis Ford Coppola to the Croisette. And not for just any film: the 85-year-old filmmaker has been working on this futuristic romance fable for 40 years. But it took a long time (versions thrown out when the New York attacks occurred, a substantial budget that required him to invest $120 million of his own fortune, from his work as a winemaker) before Megalopolis finally came out in theaters this Wednesday, September 25, and not without controversy (Coppola is accused of inappropriate behavior on the set, see more bas).
The public can therefore discover this fable, which transposes the decadence of the Roman Empire into a futuristic version of New York, subtly entitled “New Rome”. This city, prey to populism and corruption is the subject of a confrontation between two figures: that of an architect, a brilliant creator and innovative idealist, who wants to reform it, and that of the avant-garde mayor who is resistant to change. The lover of the first, also the daughter of the second, finds herself in the middle, trying to reconcile the views of both sides in order to make the city its grandeur.
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What do critics think of Megalopolis ?
The wait was long, the expectations high, for a film presented as “ambitious”, “testamentary” and “personal”. It is the case to say it, the critics are divided: 52% of positive opinions from the press on Rotten Tomatoes, a slightly better score of 60/100 on Metacritic… Francis Ford Coppola does not make anyone agree. The conquered salute the cinematic experience that offers Megalopolis, Cinésérie affirming that this film is "a precious experience" that "ends up touching the heart" despite its "great nonsense". Indiewire salutes a "garish, &epic and singular self-portrait", while Les Inrocks let itself be seduced by its "sincerity" even a disarming naivety" served by the “most eerie” images we've seen this year, ” even if it means sending narrative propriety packing.”
Conversely, other media (including us) have not considered that the obvious staging ideas of some scenes in Megalopolis completely catches up with a film that is “completely crazy, for better and especially for worse” (Première). The magazine specializing in cinematographic news considers that “the visual and narrative experiments never manage to mask a subject of a confounding naivety", in this feature film that “overflows on all sides". For Le Parisien, Francis Ford Coppola signs “a mega-disappointment", the fault of "a disjointed story", "grotesque scenes" and "a form that is far too pompous", when Marianne considers that it is "one film too many" for this "immense filmmaker".
"A terrible nanar" for BFM TV, "a unique, desperate, grandiose, grotesque film" for GQ… No one agrees, you'll have understood. And like the press, we can expect thatMegalopolis will divide the public, but what is certain is that it will not fail to provoke reactions.
On paper, Megalopolis aroused curiosity and seemed very promising in its desire to transpose Roman mythology into our modern society to point out its excesses, driven by ambitious themes. But the execution is a total failure. The writing is pompous at first. The film drowns in clichés, served by a sententious voiceover and affected dialogues.
Everything is already old: the vision of women is archaic (the mother, the virgin and the whore, literally) as is the vision of society fractured into two simplistic camps (the decadent rich and the poor without history) which seeks to point the finger at Trumpist populism, without it ever being very well done. The silly pseudo-philosophical reflections are coated with beautiful words and quotes from Marcus Aurelius on progress and civilization, but do not make the film more intelligent, quite the contrary.
As for the staging, generous certainly, it is unfortunately no better. The few good ideas distilled here and there (and some shots remain memorable, witnesses to the vision of his filmmaker) are drowned in an indigestible and pretentious hodgepodge, borrowing from the baroque and kitsch without unity. The casting, enticing on paper once again, is not enough to save the film, and some are just extras, like Jason Schwartzmann or Dustin Hoffmann. For a film that claims to be futuristic megalopolis, Megalopolis is already dated.
Synopsis – Megalopolis is a Roman epic set in an imaginary modern America in full decadence. The city of New Rome is in dire need of change, which creates a major conflict between Caesar Catiline, a genius artist with the power to stop time, and the arch-conservative mayor Franklyn Cicero. The former dreams of an ideal utopian future while the latter remains very attached to a regressive status quo that protects greed, privilege and private militias. The mayor's daughter and jet-setter Julia Cicero, in love with Caesar Catiline, is torn between the two men and must discover what she considers best for the future of humanity.
In a Guardian investigation published ahead of the screening of Megalopolis In Cannes, Francis Ford Coppola's behavior on the set was deemed highly inappropriate by members of the crew. The newspaper reports that the director “forced women to sit on his lap, for example,” and “tried to kiss some of the extras, who were topless and scantily clad at the time.” His lack of professionalism (“because no plan was made, and he did not allow his staff to make one, he often sat in his trailer for hours, did not speak to anyone, often smoked marijuana, etc.”) was also criticized.
Executive producer Darren Demeter denied this, saying that “Francis was walking around the set” during one scene “to establish the spirit of the scene by giving gentle hugs and kisses on the cheek to the actors and extras. It was his way of helping to instill and inspire the club atmosphere that was so important to the film. I have never heard of any complaints of harassment or bad behavior during the project.” For his part, Francis Ford Coppola assures that this is “totally false” even if he acknowledges physical contact: “The young women I kissed on the cheek during the New Year's Eve scene were young women I knew.” Videos of the scene have nevertheless circulated on the social network X, where he can be seen kissing and hugging extras.
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Your reviews
Rate this movie Mamina – 09/29/2024 Report Great, a must-see Royo – 09/28/2024 Report Even one star is too much, 40 years to lay that is a shame and how many million? Movie – 09/27/2024 Report Never seen a theater empty so quickly in the first hour of the movie. Movie – 09/27/2024 Report Never seen a theater empty so quickly in the first hour of the movie. Dji – 09/27/2024 Report We're waiting! Sounds like a masterpiece
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