Megadoc

by Mike McGranaghan

Francis Ford Coppola has taken huge risks throughout his career. Some of them, like Apocalypse Now, have paid off. Others, most notably One from the Heart, nearly ruined him. Most recently, the Oscar-winning director gambled $120 million of his own money to make 2024’s Megalopolis, a visually ambitious epic that earned just $14 million worldwide. The shoot was plagued by controversy, most of which director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) captured with his cameras. The result is the FFC-approved documentary Megadoc, a work every serious film buff needs to see.

Megalopolis - which I have yet to catch due to its limited theatrical release and lack of availability on disc/streaming – assembles a huge cast and contains a ton of complex visual effects, both practical and digital. Coppola begins by putting his actors through a series of odd exercises designed to stimulate creativity and build cast unity. Once production begins, several of the actors have trouble understanding how their characters fit into the complex narrative. The crew, meanwhile, struggles to give Coppola the very specific look he wants. Despite the difficulties, the director works tirelessly to bring his vision to fruition.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Megadoc is how it captures the reverence the actors have for Coppola. That reverence manifests itself in different ways. Some cast members, like Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza, are willing to at least try whatever is asked of them. Some defend the chaotic production process as being a potential springboard to greatness, Giancarlo Esposito chief among them. Then there’s Shia LaBeouf, who constantly questions and second-guesses Coppola in an effort to figure out what he’s looking for. The multiple scenes of LaBeouf getting on Coppola’s nerves are reason enough to see the documentary.

Figgis captures other behind-the-scenes dramas, too, from the controversial departure of the entire art department to the now-sober LaBeouf’s desire to apologize to co-star Jon Voight for threatening violence during a political discussion they once had. Crew members speak frankly to Figgis, as do most of the cast members, save for Nathalie Emmanuel, who strangely refuses to have anything to do with him. We quickly realize not everybody grasps what they’re making; they’re simply making it because they believe in Francis Ford Coppola.

There are good times on the set, as well. Coppola remains optimistic in the face of any and all challenges. When a complex shot is pulled off or a performance is nailed, the joy he radiates is palpable. His vision is a grand one, and the fact that he attracts so many top-tier people to the project infers how well-respected he is in the community. The film is a portrait of people following their trusted leader into battle, assuming he will guide them to victory.

Especially in light of Megalopolis’s critical and financial failure, Megadoc can be viewed in two separate ways. The first is as a formal record of folly – of an A-list director pulling a lot of talented folks into his self-serving, ultimately doomed passion project. The second is as a glimpse into one of the Hollywood greats, now in his 80s, swinging for the fences in a triumphant act of creative risk-taking. I choose to see it as the latter, although it works magnificently either way. Mike Figgis shows the craziness that goes into making a big-budget, auteur-driven spectacle, reminding us along the way that we get far too few of them nowadays.

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