Napoleon (2023) - Ridley Scott’s blockbuster loses itself in 1800s France

Credit: allocine.fr

Ridley Scott’s attempt at capturing 1800s France falls flat in this multimillion dollar blockbuster about the life and death of France’s notorious emperor, played by Joaquin Phoenix in a disappointingly unremarkable role. From mispronounced French names (who is Rob-Pierre?) to gratuitous gore (a horse is torn open down its front within the first ten minutes), Napoleon seems to scream about the power of its protagonist as much as the power of money in being able to generate such a void and uncomplex film.

Though many opinions have focused around whether Napoleon is actually historically accurate or not, this seems to be the least of its problems. Joaquin Phoenix’s entrance lacks stamina, as do attempts to change his physical appearance as Napoleon Bonaparte turns thirty, then forty. At times, dialogue is strikingly ambiguous in its intention – an unsettled giggle populated the cinema, some of Phoenix’s responses bordering on the humorous during what was otherwise a stern, strikingly unfunny sequence or situation. Vanessa Kirby is perhaps in another league, portraying Napoleon’s troubled wife Josephine with astute melancholy, but as the action progresses, there is, at its heart, very little to salvage.

Perhaps one of Napoleon’s greatest faults is that there is no real understanding, coming out of it, of what the man himself was really like – nor is there an attempt to take a stance, or even venture a guess. The whole process – for this is, unfortunately, what it feels like – seems strangely mechanical, strikingly chronological, to the point where the narrative moves only with crucial instances in the emperor’s lifetime, marked only with a date at the bottom of the screen. A lifechanging war here, a violent divorce there – there is no time to pause, no up or down, until we are eventually left trudging along to battle with Napoleon’s men. In fact, Napoleon truly only shows signs of life during the battleground scenes, its only redeeming feature. As atmosphere, shot and sound coalesce during the battle of Austerlitz, in this rare moment of lucidity, one catches a glimpse of the victorious film it could have been.