Megaflopolis

Everybody hates Megalopolis, except the people who like it, and they somehow make it seem worse than the people who hate it; e.g., ""batshit," "craziest thing I've ever seen," "clunky, garish and transcendentally sincere," "confused hope, sustaining madness," "a madman's dream." Yes, those are the good reviews.

I'm genuinely disappointed in the reception, though I have little doubt it's on point, generally speaking, but one criticism strikes me as selective and unfair. The recurrent knock in both bad and good notices is best summed by The Guardian in its pan: Megalopolis is "full of high-school-valedictorian verities about humanity’s future."

Given what passes for sophisticated thematic messaging in Hollywood - 90 percent of movies center on the idea of either "be yourself" or "be loyal to the ones you love" - the observation's a bit rich. Movies are great for telling stories. They're great for wondrous visuals, obviously. They're great at providing a certain shorthand a writer would need three paragraphs to convey. They're great at a great many things.

What they aren't built for is conveying "verities," mature or otherwise. Nor are films a philosopher's medium. I suppose you could fault Coppola for trying at all, but that's not what reviewers are saying. They contend Coppola's themes are simplistic. So cue Frank Zappa's point about writing about music is like dancing about architecture*. If you want to examine string theory or Hegel on film, you're in a mess of trouble.

The most thematically sophisticated flick I've seen in years is Roberto Sorogoyen's The Beasts, but the film isn't exactly Crime and Punishment. Its point is both sides have a point, and that's about the best you'll do in the thematic sophistication department.

Better to knock Coppola for being dull, which Megalopolis surely seems.

*Zappa's quote is pithy but dumb. That notwithstanding, I use it for illustrative purposes.

P.S. The Guardian's terra is on less firma with this story, which purports to outline Megalopolis' chaotic shoot. I know people love shit like this, but I'm unpersuaded the story uncovers anything significant. The whole director-as-weirdo thing is interesting only in the breach, and it's Coppola's money. As far as the #MeToo stuff goes I'm well beyond taking it at face value and even if I did what's outlined is small beer, if that.