The Facts:
Synopsis: A look at the military commander’s origins and swift, ruthless climb to the emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.
Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles, Ludivine Sagnier, Matthew Needham, Youssef Kerkour, Phil Cornwell, Edouard Philipponnat, Ian McNeice, Paul Rhys, John Hollingworth, Gavin Spokes, Mark Bonnar
Director: Ridley Scott
Rated: R
Running Length: 158 minutes
TMMM Score: (8/10)
Review: I’m clearly a child of the ’80s because, going into Napoleon, my most significant reference to the French military leader and emperor was what I picked up from 1989’s Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Okay, yes, I’m sure I wrote a paper on the army commander during my high school years and have watched some historical documentaries that brought him up. Still, this figure and time of French history was a significant blind spot in my remembered education.
In that respect, though I wouldn’t take the film as the sole source of truth in history, this new epic that traces the adult life of Napoleon is a good refresher for us oldies who may be lacking in the details. We should be glad that at 85, director Ridley Scott (Prometheus, The Last Duel) continues to deliver top-flight work, never more evident than what he’s done with Napoleon. Through this film experience, we receive an epic French history lesson taught by one of cinema’s most enduring teachers, one that doesn’t seem to be slowing down a bit.
Opening in 1793 with Marie Antoinette’s gruesome trip to the guillotine (look away if this death machine frightens you as much as it does me – Scott pulls no punches), we catch Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix, Joker) taking in the crowd’s reaction to their queen’s demise. The French Revolution had begun, and Napoleon was in the right place at the right time, using his fearlessness and military planning skills to his advantage in moving up the ranks. Throughout the creation of the First Republic and then the Reign of Terror, France saw a horrific amount of murder and death in its streets and battlefields, with families torn apart in the process.
Losing her first husband during this bloody stretch was the woman who would become Joséphine Bonaparte (Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman) after setting her sights on the rising star of the French military. A widow with children from her first husband, she marries quickly but soon strays while Napoleon is away, creating a public scandal that embarrasses her new husband. It takes Napoleon’s ascension to the role of emperor to bring the couple back together again, but their love is further tested when Joséphine fails to produce the heir Napoleon needs.
The attention to detail in the production design of Napoleon is a wonder to see, especially now while it is available on the big screen before it shows up on Apple+ down the road. On full display is Scott’s trademark ingenuity in staging blisteringly brutal battle scenes (horse lovers beware!) and mesmerizing recreations of political intrigue. In between the downtime moments when Napoleon and Joséphine are either basking in marital bliss or having a row are violent scenes that depict the scourge of war in grisly detail.
Your enjoyment of Napoleon might come down to your belief in Phoenix in the title role. Phoenix does not attempt an accent (though others around him speak various dialects throughout), and his line readings can come off hysterically flat. Still, there is something clever in how his aloof speech can give way to impassioned petulance that lands him in boiling water. No one can play addled and rattled like Phoenix, and it’s fun to watch him have an outburst when he gets shaken up. That’s what potentially made Napoleon such a cunning leader, the way he would keep his calm under intense pressure and only sweat the small stuff.
If Phoenix goes through peaks and valleys in his characterization, Kirby is always standing at the top of the hill waiting for him to meet her on her victorious perch. It’s rumored there is a director’s cut of Napoleon that runs longer (I honestly would have sat for another hour of this), and I feel more of Kirby’s role is in that cut of the movie. She’s too good at what she is in to have had Scott and screenwriter David Scarpa only bring her out for Phoenix’s Napoleon to play with. The two have enough chemistry that they can sit silently on a bench staring into space (in more than one scene), and we are helpless to do anything but stay rapt in their cloud of charisma for the duration.
With Scarpa’s efficient screenplay, a gorgeous score from Martin Phipps (Woman in Gold), and cinematography from the acclaimed Dariusz Wolski (News of the World, House of Gucci), Napoleon also stands tall on technical achievements. You’d think there would be some drag at nearly two hours and forty-five minutes, but I was on the edge of my chair most of the time. There’s a general sense that this film, though it is destined to be seen most on the Apple+ streaming service, was built to be enjoyed most in theaters, and I can’t disagree that it makes for a satisfying watch when Scott gets his troops in order.
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