When someone makes a mark on history, it usually has something to do with power. That was certainly the case with Napoleon Bonaparte. However, a biopic is supposed to give an audience more than what we already know about a person. Napoleon is well-acted and excellently directed but it doesn’t surprise us with anything new about its subject.
The rise of Napoleon from military general to French Emperor in the late 1700s and early 1800s is the kind of story you find in the movies. But it really happened. It was a real, significant chapter in the history of the world. Napoleon himself has popped up as a minor character in such different projects as Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and the 2002 adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo. Now, Ridley Scott takes a big budget and shapes a historical epic out of the events of Napoleon’s adulthood. Joaquin Phoenix plays the French ruler and Vanessa Kirby is his wife Josephine.
Viewers should remember that movies like this are not meant to be history lessons. They may dramatize true events but we should never look for historical accuracy from films. Despite that, Napoleon is beautifully produced and Ridley Scott‘s direction is superb. The script does not have the same success, however.
“Terror is nothing more than justice.”
This film doesn’t take the usual biopic method of starting with childhood. Instead, the film opens during the French Revolution with the execution of Marie Antoinette. Quickly, the screenplay strives to illustrate Napoleon’s military prowess when his ideas and leadership secure a win for the French at the Siege of Toulon. This sequence is the first of many battle scenes in the film and it is the type of material Scott is confident with. He has an assured hand at choreographing and shooting scenes like this.
Scott has become more graphic with the gore of battle scenes now as well. That starts with the Siege of Toulon and continues with the other more famous battles featured in this film. The Battle of Austerlitz has a winter setting that Scott utilizes for effective imagery when Napoleon lures the Austrian and Russian armies onto a frozen lake. (Historians debate whether this actually happened.) Of course, Waterloo is the final battle in the film and it is an impressive logistical feat.
The script doesn’t provide a strong foundation outside of these sequences. The complexity of French politics at this time barely gets a superficial glance here. And considering the fact that we’re talking about a biopic of the French Emperor, that’s a noticeable flaw. Also, there are a few instances where a line of dialogue or a detail just hits a false note. We know damn well Napoleon did not actually shoot the pyramids with a cannon ball, Ridley!
“Those in power only see me as a sword.”
The focus of the emotional beats of this story, such as they are, is the relationship between Napoleon and his first wife Josephine. Phoenix and Kirby play off each other fairly well but there is nothing deeply interesting about the drama that plays out between them. She cheats, he publicly humiliates her, she can’t give him an heir, he divorces her and marries a teenager. It’s all predictable stuff, even if we didn’t know the history. Not to mention it’s problematic that Josephine was 6 years older than Napoleon but Kirby is obviously NOT older than Phoenix.
The acting performances are not one of the film’s flaws. Kirby is good, and Phoenix easily projects Napoleon’s blinkered arrogance. He doesn’t bother with any kind of accent, so that may affect personal opinions about his performance. A welcome presence is the late appearance of Rupert Everett as Wellington. He could’ve used more screen time and I wouldn’t have been mad about it.
This film doesn’t develop an emotional investment in the characters or make the audience see its iconic subject in a new light. It’s an impressive production, especially in its artistic aspects. I particularly liked the costumes. But I was waiting for that unexpected touch that would’ve made the story something special. Napoleon is a strong piece of direction from Ridley Scott but there have been more interesting stories in some of his other historical epics.
3 1/2 stars out of 5
Napoleon is now playing in theaters.
