Adam Driver laments modern films that “leave nothing for you to discover”
"Films are supposed to push us forward not give us another dose of something that we've already seen"
by Elizabeth Aubrey · NMEIn a new interview with director Francis Ford Coppola, Adam Driver has lamented modern films that “leave nothing for you to discover.”
The pair spoke to Deadline ahead of the release of new film Megalopolis, which arrives in cinemas today (September 27).
The film stars Driver as Cesar Catilina, an architect-scientist who wants to improve a fictional version of New York City called New Rome. Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, and Giancarlo Esposito, among others also star.
In the interview, Driver praised Coppola calling him the “principle of show not tell” and lamented films that “leave nothing for you to discover” – ones that tell you all the details of “the plot” and “how to feel.” He added: “Those are not the movies I’m attracted to historically.”
Speaking about films like Coppola’s he added: “They’re one version when they come out and years later because you evolve or the world around has evolved and its something completely different and they keep giving you things. That’s what I think about most of Francis’ films.”
He later added: “Films are supposed to push us forward not give us another dose of something that we’ve already seen.”
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Meanwhile, Coppola recently spoke of his frustration over a lack of prep time during filming for Megalopolis. Some of the cast including Driver were absent from the start due to commitments on other projects.
“I had this extraordinary cast, but a lot of them couldn’t be there from the very beginning, so I couldn’t rehearse with them,” Coppola told IndieWire. “I gave every actor an understudy, and if an actor couldn’t be there I rehearsed with the understudy.”
Despite having to resort to this method of working, Coppola did say by having to use an understudy, “there was a lot of good stuff that came from that that benefitted the movie.”
Megalopolis, which was self-financed by Coppola and took decades to make, received a mixed reaction at its Cannes Film Festival premiere in May.
In a two-star review, NME wrote: “The trouble is – and maybe this was also part of the point, somehow – the whole piece is so uneven, that at times it’s akin to watching a toddler being given free rein as an interior decorator. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you always should.”
“All this being said, Coppola deserves a great deal of credit for ploughing $100million of his own money into making his film, his way. Whether Megalopolis is a critical or commercial success remains to be seen but it’s strange enough to surely have a long life as a cult film.”
As a result Coppola recently shared a new trailer for the film featuring negative reviews on his past movies such as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.