'Napoleon' Is Mostly Victorious
Ridley Scott's Napoleon is big, epic, and short enough to make a competent film but not a grand one. At two and a half hours, the film breezes by with a series of battles, war strategies, and explosions from canon fire to hold your attention. Napoleon is huge in scale and devoid of any sort of fascinating portrait of Napoleon himself. It's more of a film about scale than character. As depicted in this film, Napoleon is a leader whose brilliance led his men to victory.
Ridley Scott is a man with experience when it comes to on-screen warfare. The war scenes depicted in Gladiator are bar non in gruesome combat. Scott is not afraid to walk out with the buckets of blood, and Napoleon is no exception. The violence isn't just for the sake of being violent. It's there to show the audience how brutal the times were. During the French Revolution in 1789, Napoleon saw his fair share of combat. People are sliced and blown to bits in this flick. In one of the film's earliest battles, a canon directly impacts a hoarse, exposing its guts everywhere. At the end of the battle, Napoleon digs into the horse's stomach to retrieve the canon ball that was left in him as a memento.
Most period war movies shy away from graphic violence. They do it so much so that it takes away from its impact. The Woman King is a fine example of a film that washes away the blood from war in order to maintain a PG-13 rating. When the combat is gory, it's realistic, but it can also be mishandled. Mel Gibson's Hackshaw Ridge exaggerates violence to the effect that it's almost comedic how bad it is. The warfare of this film is done respectfully but still feels disconnected from any real emotional impact. There isn't a soldier we get to know. Furthermore, we don't see how the casualties of war impact Napoleon except when we get a closing card with all of Napoleon's troop casualties.
There's a lot of action in the film. Almost too much, as we don't get to see what Napoleon is like on the inside. We certainly get the sense that he was a longing romantic when constantly writing to and pursuing his lover, Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby). But that's about it. The movie spends much of its time on the battlefield and not much off of it. That's okay since we are talking about Napoleon, after all. Napoleon is depicted as the smartest man in the room, which he very well was. Often, he'd come up with battle strategies nobody else in the room could think of and deliver results.
One odd result is the choice of performances in the film. Joaquin Phoenix is a fine actor, well deserved for his Oscar for Joker. He hasn't worked with Ridley Scott since Gladiator, a film in which Pheonix also plays a man holding a position of power. Unlike Gladiator, where Joaquin Phoenix is a petulant, raging Roman Emperor, Napoleon is a brilliant tactician and leader. There's an intimidation factor with Joaquin Phoenix where you don't know if he's going to blow his gasket or not. Phoenix brings that intensity into Napoleon. Joaquin always looks like he's about to do something crazy. His face in this film is stern yet twitchy, making him convincing enough to be a strong and hinged military leader.
But here's where the odd part comes in. Phoenix is using his natural accent. It's a weird but understandable choice. Instead of phoning in a British or French accent like most films do, this one lets the actors use their natural voice. It seems peculiar as there are people in British accents speaking to a man in an American accent who's supposed to be a Frenchman.
Of course, this is a movie meant to sell tickets, so you need a star to lead the film. Casting a French actor or having the entire cast speak French will keep butts away from seats. For what Phoenix brings to the table, it's good enough but not great. Vanessa Kirby plays second fiddle to Joaquin Phoenix, really delivering a performance worth watching.
As Phoenix screams his way into battle, the film isn't quite a victory but a solid attempt at telling the tale of a legend. At two and a half hours, the film was enough to take in. With the four-and-a-half-hour cut coming to Apple TV+, I don't see how the movie needs it. Napoleon was enough for the running time it had and should be experienced on the big screen for its massive scale. There's always more to tell with Napoleon. If you want hours of viewership, consider making Napoleon a miniseries as Steven Spielberg originally planned before dropping out of the production. Napoleon has been a project that Stanley Kubrick wanted to get off the ground. When he died, it went to Spielberg, who attached himself as a producer with True Detective director Joji Fukunaga signed on to direct the seven-part series for HBO. What we ultimately get with this theatrical cut is an exciting biopic that delivers on action but little on emotion. Go to the film for Vanessa Kirby. Stay for the impressive setpieces and thrilling action.
