Giancarlo Esposito explains how “Megalopolis” connects to the presidential election

"Our expectations have to change about what we want from other humans who are going to represent us," the actor says.

You could say that Megalopolis is a Janus-faced film, looking both forward and backward at the same time. For all its exhortations about the future, Francis Ford Coppola's passion project is also heavily inspired by ancient Roman history. But is there anything in the sprawling, multi-genre movie that can speak to our present-day situation? Giancarlo Esposito certainly thinks so.

Perhaps that's fitting since Esposito stars as Mayor Franklyn Cicero, the leader of New Rome who opposes the idealistic dreams of heroic inventor Cesar Catalina (Adam Driver) in favor of maintaining the status quo. But Esposito is also a particularly intelligent and eloquent actor, and after diving deep into Roman history and Coppola's other inspirations to prepare for the role, he has become adept at elucidating the thematic material of Megalopolis. He points to one scene in particular between Cicero and his wife (played by Kathryn Hunter) as representative of how the film can speak to the current presidential election in the United States.

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"The quintessential scene for me is taking that first step, reaching for his wife on the moving escalator, something he's never seen before that's going to take him into the future. Will he go for the ride? Will he look upon it as a new adventure?" Esposito says. "I think we all have to ask ourselves these questions, especially now with the upcoming election: What do we really want?"

Esposito continues, "I hear the complaints of, 'Oh, we don't really have a choice, and one choice is not any better than the other,' or however you might put it. But we have to be moving in a direction that allows us to become human again. What we need are the politics of intention, and the next incarnation of a great leader who really thinks about the people and not their own pocket or that of big corporations."

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No current American politicians are really offering the kind of think-big rhetoric that Catalina espouses in the film when he says things like "don't let the now destroy the forever." All parties are seemingly laser-focused on their own immediate interests. But the process of making Megalopolis has inspired Esposito to think about history beyond just the old Roman Republic ("It makes me want to be more cognizant and more aware," he says), and he has subsequently found other examples of selfless thinking he thinks we need.

"Our expectations have to change about what we want from other humans who are going to represent us," Esposito says. "We have to allow them to truly be human and go through their process of listening for our voices. But that expectation is difficult. The last great president who did this was Jimmy Carter, who elicited a lasting peace with Egypt that still exists today from those 12 days at Camp David with Anwar Sadat. He had a vision and it cost him the election, and it cost Anwar Sadat his life, but that peace is still there. Why can't we have men like this who think beyond their own longevity and think about what's good for their people and the world?"

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Outside the political sphere, Esposito praises Coppola as an artist and leader who was open to trying new things and listening to other people. It would be nice to see that from other leaders as well.

"Francis always says it's an experiment. Film is an experiment," Esposito says. "He's very inclusive. He would text me in the mornings with some poem or comment or story from Ancient Rome that made me think about how it might play into the scene I was doing that day. Other days he wanted it a certain way because he's really planned out in his brain, but then in the middle of the day he would go, 'Well, try this!'"

Esposito continues, "Sometimes you wouldn't know what he was doing or thinking, but he's thoughtful in the moment and more present than you could ever imagine. Now he's made a film that even he says some people love and some people hate. It's a journey and it's a lot to take in, but there is something about it that has a very profound depth. It keeps coming back to you. It's like something you've never seen before."

Megalopolis is in theaters now.

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