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Napoleon

Tyler Harlow

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Tahim, Rupert Everett, Ben Miles, Paul Rhys, Mark Bonnar


Director: Ridley Scott


Chronicles the rise and fall of the famed Frenchman Napoleon Bonaparte who as a young general leads the French to victory after a successful siege and defeat of the British at Toulon. After he becomes a popular figure in France because of this he, along with his libertine wife Josephine (Kirby), Napoleon leads coups and does what he can to ascend to the crown. As years pass and Napoleon continues to conquer the world, he becomes increasingly frustrated that Josephine cannot bear him a son to pass the throne on to. As he begins to feel the pressure to produce an heir, Napoleon sees the world and life he has carefully built begins to crumble around him.


At 85, its admirable how quickly prolific filmmaker Ridley Scott is able to put out new films. In the past 13 years, he has 10 films to his credit, in a variety of genres, including two In 2021 (House of Gucci and The Last Duel). It's hard to question his work ethic, especially after 2017's All The Money in the World where he completely reshot Kevin Spacey's role with Christopher Plummer (who got the movie's sole Oscar nomination) and still made his release date. We can debate how successful these movies are but Scott's dedication to bringing entertainment to the masses can't be. This also marks his eighth historical film (The Duelists, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood, Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Last Duel) so he is in familiar territory here.


Scott's aforementioned commitment is ultimately what makes Napoleon disappointing. It's not a bad movie by any stretch but it definitely could have been a lot better because Napoleon was such a bombastic and controversial figure. The movie doesn't embrace this nearly as much as it should, and a rumor of a 4 hour directors cut coming soon makes me feel like a lot of interesting material was cut from the film.


The movie comes alive during the battle scenes, which are gorgeously shot by cinematographer Dariusz Wolski and quite thrilling. From the opening Siege of Toulon through the icy Battle of Austerlitz and concluding with the famed Battle of Waterloo, it is clear Scott put a lot of effort into vividly bringing these battles to graphic and gritty life. It is also here we see Napoleon as the famed tactician he was known as. This is where the movie is at its most interesting. Wolski uses many tracking shots to capture the action here as well as close ups of the conditions the soldiers find themselves in during the battles, There are a couple moments where digital cannonball shots become an eyesore and stick out more than they should but otherwise these battle scenes should give those in the audience what they want from these scenes.


Where the movie falls apart, for me, is the relationship between Josephine and Napoleon. The movie goes to great lengths to have audiences believe that despite everything going on behind closed doors, Josephine was the love of his life. However, the movie doesn't really show why Napoleon felt this way. All they really do is have sex and fight. I would have loved to have seen more about their relationship in order to feel more connected to their story, which informs so much of how Napoleon acts on and off the battlefield.


Joaquin Phoenix, reuniting with Scott for the first time since Gladiator, is good in the role but his portrayal can be categorized as petulant child. He is very petty and whines or gets angry at every little thing that doesn't go his way. Its a rather annoying characterization that gets stale as the film progresses. Vanessa Kirby is very good as Josephine but the issues with the portrayal of their relationship makes it hard to really get into the movie. I get that the movie is called Napoleon but at over two and half hours long, the movie keeps her character at an arms length and doesn't really give us a reason to care about her. There are many supporting characters as well that I just lost track of because the movie doesn't really delve into them, keeping the movie focused solely on Phoenix's Napoleon.


In the end, there is no denying Scott's technical film making prowess, bringing epic battle scenes to life on screen. However the relationship between Napoleon and Josephine keep the movie from reaching the heights of some of Scott's classics. History buffs will probably have a lot to talk about as well, as the historical inaccuracies have been widely commented on. Scott's reactions to these comments are probably more entertaining than end product but it still doesn't take away from the enjoyable aspects of the film.


Grade: C+





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