Film Review - Napoleon

Images courtesy of Sony Pictures Australia.

“I’m not built like other men” 

Ridley Scott’s latest film Napoleon stars Joaquin Phoenix as the eponymous French emperor, ‘documenting’ his life from the Reign of Terror, until his unceremonious death 28 years later. The film stretches itself thin by covering 6 of his 61 battles (of which he only ever lost 7) whilst also trying to explore the incredibly co-dependent relationship he had with his first wife Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby. 

Now before we truly get into it, I feel the need to explain one thing. Napoleon was not short. He was 5 foot 2 in French feet which converts to 5 foot 8 in the British system we use, which was the average height for a man of his time. Even if he were short it would not matter, seeing as his innovative battlefield tactics didn’t rely on height, but when someone has an entire complex named after a mistruth, I think it is worth mentioning. Especially when Scott plays into this short joke during a scene where he makes Napoleon bring out a step stool before interacting with an Egyptian mummy. It just comes off as lazy. Then again Scott has made it clear how little he cares for historical accuracy by telling critics to ‘get a life’. 

Some questionable choices included Napoleon’s second wife changing ethnicity, the destruction of the pyramids, and skipping over important contextual events that will leave viewers who don’t already have  an understanding of the history a little lost, and those who are well-versed extremely disappointed. Also, the use of posh British accents for every other Frenchman, whilst Phoenix uses his standard American accent. Now, this could have been a stroke of pure genius on Scott’s behalf, a way of highlighting the difference between the ‘brutish’ Corsican Napoleon and the pampered Parisian elite, a fabulous form of symbolism seeing as his ethnic background played a large part in his desire for respect (now that should be the concept behind having a Napoleon concept). Then again, the British also speak in British accents,so maybe it’s just Scott playing it safe after the traumatising Italian accents he introduced us to in House of Gucci. Or maybe Phoenix just can’t do a British accent. 

It’s difficult to take Napoleon seriously in moments where he storms out of meetings after proclaiming “you think you are so great because you have boats!” Sometimes it felt like I was watching Joker. The random touches of humour were a little slapstick in nature and it felt like the jokes were at the expense of Napoleon himself. Now let’s be clear, love or hate him, he wasn’t a buffoon, and portraying him as such undermines the impact he had. This is the man responsible for legal codes ensuring equality in a post-monarchical world, education reforms, infrastructural developments, and the death of an estimated 3 to 6 million people. 

Kirby’s performance as Josephine is excellent, as she manages to portray the aristocrat with incredible sympathy despite her questionable decisions. Unfortunately, the vast majority of her scenes were when Napoleon was attempting to be a member of SNL. It’s hard to give an Oscar-winning performance when your partner is making peculiar  mewling sounds as a form of sexual foreplay. I would comment on the other characters, but due to their poor introductions, they’re made instantly forgettable. This is a real shame considering the close relationship Napoleon had with his generals and the way their eventual betrayal of him played a large role in his downfall. 

The issue is, I could see the potential for an exploration of Bonaparte as both an imposing military leader of France and a simple Corsican man enamoured by Josephine, and the way these two sides played against each other. But doing all of this in 2.5 hours? It borders on ridiculous, especially given Sergei Bondarchuk’s 1970 film Waterloo, which only focussed on one of his battles, also found itself resorting to cutting out important context for the sake of time. So Scott’s attempt to shove it all into one film was overly ambitious, as he inevitably suffered the same fate as the man whose story he wished to share. A 4-hour version will be released on Apple TV+ later this year and who knows, maybe it will bring everything that the feature currently lacks, however, a director should not be relying on a director’s cut for people to fully appreciate his film. But hey, maybe this is just the future of film in the age of streaming services. 

I know I’ve made it seem overly bleak, but there were elements of the feature that were done tremendously. Phoenix shone during his scenes that demonstrated Napoleon’s military prowess and the way he innovated warfare (there is literally a Wikipedia page on Napoleonic tactics). The opulently shot battle sequences are incredible; it’s worth watching this movie purely for the Battle of Austerlitz. This was so beautifully done, it almost makes you forget that it’s depicting the incredibly harrowing deaths of poor men sent to fight a rich man’s war.  

So if you have no interest in historical accuracy and enjoy stunning cinematography, awkward romancing, spectacular war scenes, and hate the English, then Napoleon is the film for you. 

3/5 boats. 

Napoleon is screening in cinemas from Thursday 23rd November. For tickets and more info, click here.