It’s been 13 long years since Francis Ford Coppola’s last film (Twixt), but the legendary director is finally back on the big screen with a brand-new movie, Megalopolis (at Cineworld from 27 September). With Coppola’s back catalogue including such classics as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and The Outsiders, cinema goers are going to be expecting big things from this new release – a science fiction drama starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito and Nathalie Emmanuel. But what’s the film about, who else is in it, and how well has it gone down with people who’ve seen it? You can find the answers to all these questions below, along with a trailer for the movie.
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It's been in development for decades
Megalopolis has been something of a passion project for Coppola. The director first started writing the screenplay way back in 1983, and in 2021 he sold part of his winery portfolio in California to help fund the movie. It finally premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May of this year, where it was selected to compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or. Speaking about Coppola, festival director Thierry Frémaux told Variety: “He’s a man who survived all the battles, and yet he has kept an appetite for life and for cinema that is extraordinarily stimulating. Megalopolis is a project that he wanted to achieve for so long and he did it independently, in his own way, as an artist.”
It’s about love, loyalty and power
Coppola’s movie is centred around an architect called Cesar Catilina (Driver), who, in the wake of a natural disaster, dreams of rebuilding the destroyed city of New Rome into a utopian metropolis. His plan is fiercely opposed by the city’s regressive mayor, Franklyn Cicero (Esposito), however – while caught in the midst of this power struggle is Julia (Emmanuel), a young woman who’s torn between the love of her life, Cesar, and her father, Franklyn. While these themes of power and loyalty aren’t exactly new, the movie’s epic set pieces and spectacular visuals make Megalopolis a breath of fresh air.
There are some big stars in it
The Megalopolis cast oozes talent. As we’ve already mentioned, Star Wars favourite Adam Driver plays the main role, Breaking Bad actor Giancarlo Esposito stars as his nemesis, and Nathalie Emmanuel (Fast X, Arthur the King) is the young woman caught between them. But there are a number of other Hollywood luminaries in the film, too, including Shia LaBeouf as Cesar’s cousin (who just so happens to have a crush on Cesar’s girlfriend), Jon Voight as his wealthy uncle, Laurence Fishburne as his driver, and Talia Shire (Coppola’s sister) playing Cesar’s mother. What a lineup!
Coppola wants the film to inspire people
When you’ve spent decades making a movie, you obviously want cinema-goers to love it. But more than that – the Megalopolis director also hopes that it’ll encourage people to do positive things. “My dream would be that this movie could be seen on New Year’s Eve, and people would — instead of saying I’m going to lose weight or I’m not going to smoke anymore or I’m not going to cheat on my wife — talk about: Is the society we’re living in the only one available?” Coppola told Associated Press. “How can we make it better? And if they talk about it, they will. That’s my dream.”
Many critics have given it the thumbs-up
It’s not just the panel at Cannes that have been impressed by Coppola’s new movie – many critics have raved about it, too. Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com wrote: "Megalopolis" is exactly what movies can and should be – unflinchingly earnest,” and Patrice Witherspoon of Screen Rant gushed: “Megalopolis isn't just a transcendental delight for the senses, it's a manifestation of Coppola's dreams for humanity and his dedication to cinema.” Meanwhile, Zhuo-Ning Su of Awards Daily noted: “The film’s second half features gorgeously eloquent visual flourishes which make it increasingly clear that Coppola is addressing some big, essential ideas, and the sheer scope of his ambition stuns.”
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