I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film get such diverse ratings on the Letterboxd curve.
If any film merits such an honor, then I guess it might as well be Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.” On Letterboxd, it has almost the same number of 1-star as 5-star reviews. Yes, Coppola has made one of the most bewildering films of the century, and one that I’m sure will get talked about for years to come.
If anything, the polarizing reviews should only heighten your excitement to catch the film this coming weekend. I can almost guarantee that you’ve seen nothing quite like “Megalopolis.”
In fact, our readers should check out Coppola’s $120M epic for themselves and chime in with their thoughts this coming weekend. I’ll open up a thread on Saturday where you can comment, vent and debate this unique film as much as you’d like.
Back in May, I left the Cannes screening baffled by what I had just seen, but I do look forward to catching up again with “Megalopolis” tonight — the least I could do is give it a rewatch.
Coppola walks a real tightrope with this film. I really didn’t know how to process the delivery. Oh, and it is NOT commercial at all. There is zero chance this film finds an audience, but, really, who cares. It defies all standard dramatic rules and is the most idiosyncratic American film I’ve seen in a very long time.
“Megalopolis” is a very personal statement, one in which Coppola dares us to ask big questions, about legacy, the survival of our species and how we can try to safeguard a better world for future generations. Some of his crazy ideas pan out, others don’t, but there’s no denying that this is as ambitious, daring and, yes, incoherent as cinema gets.
The film currently sits at 50% on Rotten Tomatoes and 60 on Metacritic.
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