Directed By Ridley Scott

Starring – Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim

The Plot – The film captures Napoleon Bonaparte’s (Phoenix) relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine (Kirby), showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.

Rated R for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and brief adult language

(1) NAPOLEON – Official Trailer (HD) – YouTube

POSITIVES

As biopics about monumental figures of history goes, “Napoleon” is anything but conventional, focusing primarily on 28 years in the life of the French revolutionary, who Scott articulates as being anything other than ethical. In fact, it feels like Scott downright loathes Napoleon, despite his irrefutable impact on European history, with several instances of heartlessness and humility leading to a surprising amount of comedic humor deposited wonderfully towards the appealing factor of the narrative. Beyond this, the script doesn’t follow the conventional route with its outline that a majority of biopics typically follow, instead sifting through several key moments in the life of its titular protagonist that seems to convey that the where measures so much further than the who, with a series of wartime sequences that vividly illustrate his impact to French population control. For those action sequences, Scott doesn’t stall, even at the age of 85, with grueling, grisly conflicts that are not only remarkably shot with an extensive scope and scale that convey the magnitude in each of them, but also a blanketing sound design with the kind of thunderous echo across the battlefield that immerses audiences seamlessly into the unpredictable elements that envelope its solidiers. Further adding to this timely consistency within 18th and 19th century depiction is the tremendous display of production values elicited towards more than one vital aspect of meaningful visuals. The costume designs, set decoration and weathered cinematography from Academy Award winning cinematographer Dariusz Wolski cement a certain specificity that feels every bit lived-in as it does appropriate for the particular age, and when conjured with Scott’s gritty tonal consistency for the world depicted in the timeframe, really cements a collective effort for transformative essence. Lastly, the performances were a bit surprisingly hit or miss for me, but Vanessa Kirby makes the most of her time with a seductive shine that the camera gravitates alluringly around. Kirby matches emotional versatility and depth with a consistency to English accent that her co-star simply didn’t attempt, and considering her influence over Napoleon and the audience, in the way that the camera often positions itself for nearly POV perspectives with its framing, I wish that the script valued her in ways that the movie’s emotional pull attempted to, especially since she’s every bit as important to the narrative of Napoleon as he is.

NEGATIVES

In an age where three hour movies drop like leafs during the change of seasons, “Napoleon” earned every bit of its two-and-a-half hour run time and more, which without more allotted time makes Scott’s latest feel like a Wikipedia summary in the life of France’s most infamously cold war hero. This is because the script, with all of its flaws, maintains a redundancy and derivative consistency as it jumps from one war to the next, over the course of Napoleon’s cruel reign, and while these aforementioned action sequences are delivered masterfully from Scott, the lack of focus in the relationships of downtime moments between them, create more problems for the film’s integrity than expected. This is especially the case with the on-the-rocks romance of Napoleon and Josephine, which is utilized during the third act to be this meaningful dynamic between each of them, but only showcased as abusively cold to that point. In addition, characters arrive and disappear at the drop of a hat, without explanation, leaving it difficult to invest or even remember where each of them factor into Napoleon’s life. This is another example of where relationships in dynamic would’ve elicited a far greater outline in character study, but David Scarpa’s script never attempts to know or understand the person off of the battlefield, and because of such it limits the appeal of him or those vital figures surrounding him. Speaking of Napoleon, this might be the first time in history where I haven’t enjoyed a performance from Joaquin Phoenix. Without a French accent or uniqueness in his approach to the character, we’re simply only ever seeing Joaquin Phoenix, instead of Napoleon, and considering he is emotionally grounded throughout the duration of the engagement, the role never challenges or demands much from him in ways that justify an Oscar nomination. Finally, while most of the technical components swing for the fences with ambition and believability, the movie’s make-up schemes, or lack there of, fail at even the most simple concepts of time passage, throughout a movie that stems 28 years. One of my biggest pet peeves in cinema is when a movie can’t properly age its characters, and with “Napoleon” it doesn’t even try, and the end result is a protagonist who hasn’t aged a single solitary day in the extent of the movie’s narrative, despite war, pressures of child conception or even paranoia playing so prominently in his psychological well-being.

OVERALL
“Napoleon” doesn’t always make the most of its two-and-a-half hour run time, with a war dominated script that never gets close enough to the titular character or his many vital dynamics, but with breathtaking battle sequences, time-traveling production values and a stoically subversive turn from Kirby to the movie’s benefit, there’s just enough ammunition and gun powder to Scott’s unconventional biopic to keep matters marching onward, even at times a bit forcefully.

My Grade: 6/10 or C+