Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' divides critics at Cannes

The script had been ready for decades, the budget was pulled from his own (vast) pocket, and the critics' expectations were huge. Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' finally premiered in Cannes.

The 85-year-old creator of cinematic masterpieces like "The Godfather," "Dracula," and "Apocalypse Now" made us wait quite a few years for his latest film. Journalists knew from the frequent information about the scale of the latest work that it was worth the wait. We’re talking about "Megalopolis."

The script for the film was written in the 1980s, considered the period of the director's most excellent creativity. At that time, the grand project was not realized due to various reasons, mainly financial. Since then, the concept has been surrounded by legends and speculations. Coppola, however, achieved his goal and made the film.

The film is announced as an epic tale of political ambitions, set in a utopian vision of New York, here called New Rome. Aesthetically resembling the epic associated with this city, it was destroyed by disaster. From this short description alone, one can conclude that this is not some modest film with a budget of just 67 million Canadian dollars. Coppola reached deep into his pocket for 161 million Canadian dollars to go through with his opus magnum. However, there is no need to worry about his possible bankruptcy, as the funds came from selling only a part of the rights to the family vineyard.

A significant part of the enormous budget of "Megalopolis" certainly consisted of star salaries. The cast includes names like Adam Driver (whose participation in anything already brings good reviews), Aubrey Plaza (still playing the same character, but with great charm), and Shia LaBeouf, who may redeem himself from recent controversies with this film.

The film had its long-awaited premiere on Thursday evening at the ongoing festival in Cannes. It’s most honest to say that "Megalopolis" divided critics. Some call the film bold and epic, others surprisingly shallow. The author from "The Guardian" even used "mega boring and mega pretentious"! Meanwhile, right after the screening, the audience in tuxedos and evening gowns rose to their feet to applaud the creator and the cast. According to Variety, the ovation lasted seven minutes.

It's hard to predict today whether it was because it is appropriate to honor such a legendary creator approaching 90 for still dedicating his life to cinema, or whether "Megalopolis" is truly an outstanding film. Viewers will find out when the film hits wide theatrical distribution.