Preamble

To quote Gurney Halleck from Dune (2021)- “I see you’ve found the mood.” My blog posts can be erratic at the worst of times: 3 posts in a week, then nothing for nearly 10 days. However, I don’t follow any set plan or release schedule. I just follow my bliss. In the spirit of that point, I wanted to discuss Megalopolis. I’ve seen it twice this week, and honestly, the film has lingered for me in surprising ways. One way is through its visuals, which range from artful to astoundingly cheap-looking. With that said, what’s your favourite shot from Francis Ford Coppola’s ambitious 2024 film? Let me know in the comments below.

One Great Shot

Much like a Russell Brand-styled political rant (circa 2014), Megalopolis is a rambling but well-intentioned effort from one of America’s most celebrated directors. The same goes for the movie’s various shots. I could have gone for the medium shot of a nefarious Shia LaBeouf doing what could only be described as a cocaine fuled, Dennis Hopper esque impression of Jack Nicholson’s Joker from 1989’s Batman. Or the various Art Deco-inspired shots of the New Rome skyline, where Adam Driver’s Cesar affirms his metaphysical prowess.

However, I wanted to go for something a little more abstract to discuss what I think the film is exploring in part. The shot in question is Cesar’s face reveal after he got shot in a fan encounter. The reveal of his glistening golden visage has a striking resemblance to the Phantom’s unmasking in various musical and movie incarnations. This feels particularly intentional, given Adam Driver’s physicality early in the film that resembles a child trying to strut about the stage (in a semi spooky fashion) as literature’s most famous Erik.

But it also points to something important the film is contending with. Cesar’s various flirtations with time are a metaphor for how an artist deals with death and grief. It’s as though all of a sudden, that hole in their life has given them the freedom and time to work on their art. However, if they attempt to paper over the cracks of that loss (via a misuse of drugs or hedonistic pursuit), then they lose that ability to create and be able to self-actualise. It’s no accident that Cesar gains back this ability in tandem with Julia’s (Nathalie Emmanuel) insistence and faith in him.

At the same time, there’s a reason for the almost dreamlike depiction of Cesar’s golden half face. You could read it as an awakening of the third eye, an almost godlike sense of self-awareness that the character now projects outwards as opposed to inwards. This is evident when he goes to Purgatory to visit his dead wife. Only he can see his late love in these similar colours, but Julia can’t see her at all. In the same vein, Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza) now sees Cesar in a heightened way, much as he still sees Sunny Hope.

In turn, this makes Platinum’s arc quite ironic. As someone who perhaps can see the world in heightened ways, she instead chooses to embrace the world as it is, which is the pursuit of power and wealth at any cost. And that may just be the character of New Rome, eat or be eaten, or in her case, worship or be worshipped. Or perhaps, I will have a different reading next Tuesday about the scene being truly about Megalon. Such is the nature of Megalopolis’s one great shot. It’s pretentious, playful, and perhaps full of meaning.