Nathalie Emmanuel and Adam Driver play Julia and Cesar Megapolis.

Courtesy of Lionsgate/Courtesy of Lionsgate/Courtesy of Lionsgate

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Courtesy of Lionsgate/Courtesy of Lionsgate/Courtesy of Lionsgate

In the early eighties, Francis Ford Coppola released classics such as The godfather And Apocalypse now under his belt set his sights on his next magnum opus: an ambitious, fabulous drama that would draw parallels between the US and ancient Rome.

But after the costly flop of his 1982 musical, One from the heartCoppola was unable to get another big-budget labor of love off the ground, and Megapolis languished for decades. Just a few years ago he returned to the project, selling part of his wine company and investing $120 million of his own money. Even after production wrapped, setbacks continued, from difficulties finding theatrical distribution to reports that Coppola had behaved inappropriately toward women on set, which the director has denied.

Now, against great odds, Megapolis has arrived, and whatever you’ve heard or haven’t heard of it, I urge you to see it for yourself. You might conclude that, as did some critics at this year’s Cannes Film Festival Megapolis is an unholy mess, full of disjointed plot points, didactic ideas, and muddled historical allusions—an epic folly from a once-great filmmaker who long ago lost his mojo and possibly his mind. To which I can only say that any foolishness must have as much courage and passion as Megapolis. I’ve seen it twice now, and both times I’ve been dazzled by its beauty, its conviction, and its moments of brilliance.

The story takes place in a city called New Rome, which looks a lot like New York, but with Roman touches, from the classical architecture to the bacchanalian celebrations and even a Colosseum-style sports arena. The plot essentially updates a famous Roman power struggle from 63 BC

Adam Driver plays Cesar Catilina, an architect and designer who longs to transform New Rome into a dazzling futuristic utopia. But Cesar is challenged by the cynical mayor, Franklin Cicero – that’s Giancarlo Esposito – who sees Cesar as a delusional dreamer. Furthering the conflict is Cicero’s daughter, Julia, a hard-partying medical student dropout, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, who asks Cesar for a job.

There is a speechy stiffness to Coppola’s dialogue that takes some getting used to. But the story itself is a fairly simple mix of romance, sci-fi noir and political thriller. Cesar hires Julia as an assistant, and they become lovers. But there are many complications.

There is the mystery of Cesar’s late wife, who died years ago under strange circumstances. There’s also a lot of dysfunctional family drama with Cesar’s filthy rich banking uncle, played by Jon Voight, and a cousin who’s not doing well – that’s Shia LaBeouf. Both men have their own sinister plans for the future of the city. And in the clichéd role of an unscrupulous TV reporter, Aubrey Plaza steals every scene, as Plaza usually does.

There’s more, much more: horse-drawn chariots and nightclub unicorns, old Hollywood-style filmmaking techniques and kaleidoscopic visual effects, wild sex and startling violence. There are also references to Pygmalion, Marcus Aurelius, Sapphic poetry and Hamletwhose “to be or not to be” monologue Cesar performs at one point. He finds himself in the throes of an existential crisis, fearing that humanity’s time is coming to an end.

And if Megapolis has one subject: it’s time. The characters constantly talk about time. The trippy production design is full of clocks and sundials. Cesar has the supernatural ability to momentarily freeze time, but even he can’t stop its forward march for long. Watching the film, I couldn’t stop thinking about Coppola, now 85, and his own battle with time, including the four decades he spent trying to Megapolis made.

But whatever grudge Coppola may harbor toward an industry that has both honored and shunned him over the years, there’s not a trace of bitterness in the film. Cesar believes in the future, and so does Coppola. Just because Rome fell, he seems to be saying, doesn’t mean the world should too. Wars can end, the planet can be saved and people can choose to live in a more inclusive and just society.

Above all, Coppola clearly believes in the future of movies, and that, in a medium overrun with franchises, streaming junk and AI technology, there is still room for a big-screen work of art that is as grandly improbable and deeply human as it is Megapolis. Like so many Francis Ford Coppola films, it is truly one from the heart.