Francis Ford Coppola’s fantastical passion project Megalopolis has finally arrived, featuring a fictionalized New York City on the verge of collapse and a doe-eyed Adam Driver determined to put it back together.
Inspired by epic Roman legends, Megalopolis re-imagines New York City as a grand empire, complete with chariot races, on the verge of decay. Cesar Catilina (Driver) is a genius architect who dreams of bringing his beloved city into the utopian future.
Wandering through gorgeously crumbling vistas, Catilina waxes poetically about the future of society, but faces opposition from the corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) while slowly falling for his socialite daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel).
Boasting an impressively star-studded cast and nine-figure budget, Megalopolis promises to be one of 2024’s biggest spectacles. The trailer gives little away in terms of plot, but Coppola’s trademark blend of urban fantasy, epic scale, and nuanced commentary promises a moviegoing experience unlike any other.
In a year of CGI four-quadrant blandness, Megalopolis feels like the last hurrah of one of Hollywood’s most unapologetically distinct voices.
Megalopolis is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2024.
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