Epic battles and a volatile romance are at the core of filmmaker Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, a historical action drama about the rise to power and fall of France’s great general and emperor. The films opens in 1789 with Marie Antoinette being taken to the guillotine to be executed. Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix) watches from amongst the cheering crowd.
As another French revolution begins, Napoleon – who at this point in history is just a gunnery officer – is given the task of leading an attack against the British in 1793 at the Siege of Toulon, which becomes an enormous loss for the British. Napoleon’s career advances to head of the French army and at the same time, his attention turns to Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).
Josephine’s an aristocrat and widowed mother who survived prison during the recently ended Reign of Terror, and Napoleon catches sight of her at a party and is instantly mesmerized. Soon, he begins to court her and it’s not long before they’re married.
However, their wedded bliss is short-lived when Napoleon is sent off to Egypt with his army to protect French interests there. And, more importantly, his assignment serves to get him out of the country so those in charge can abuse their power to increase their own pockets.
It’s while Napoleon is in Egypt that Josephine takes a lover and has a torrid affair. When word of this reaches Napoleon, he returns to France to confront her and to decide whether or not to save the marriage. A fearful and regretful Josephine, desperate not to lose her home and place in society, sits through her husband’s jealous and infuriated outburst of anger and rage until finally they agree to continue as husband and wife.
The action fast-forwards to 1802 with the newly crowned Emperor Napoleon taking his army to Austria to fight both Russia and Austria in what becomes known as The Battle of Austerlitz. In one of his greatest military victories, Napoleon traps the Russian and Austrian armies on frozen ice and sends them to their watery graves with gunfire and cannonballs.
As the years continue, the marriage between Napoleon and Josephine becomes deeply strained when she is unable to provide him with a son and heir to the crown. Eventually, with both their hearts breaking, they mutually agree to dissolve the marriage for ”the good of France” so Napoleon can marry a younger woman who will be able to give him an heir.
Ridley’s film continues with the war of 1812 and Napoleon’s march and withdrawal from Moscow, and to 1815 with his final battle and epic loss at Waterloo against the British.
Captivating and energetic, Napoleon is a bold, ambitious historical drama that has spectacular battle sequences but an inconsistent performance by Joaquin Phoenix. The sprawling epic also suffers from an uneven tone.
Joaquin Phoenix delivers a powerful albeit erratic performance as the great French leader with his best scenes showing the determination, calculation, and cunning of the military leader on the battlefield. In the Siege of Toulon, he conveys beautifully both the fear and exhilaration Napoleon feels during the battle as well as the cool and ruthless calculation of the man at the battle of Austerlitz.
Unfortunately, Phoenix’s early scenes with Vanessa Kirby as Josephine as they get to know each other feel odd and almost out of place. Both Phoenix and Kirby fail to generate any heat or chemistry, which is essential to show a love affair that’s considered to be a romance for the ages.
Vanessa Kirby portrays Josephine as a strong, intelligent woman of her times who knows how to use her sexuality on men to make them adore her. Josephine’s also well aware of what she must do to survive in such turbulent times. Sadly, Kirby never conveys any real sense of attraction, caring, or love towards Phoenix’s Napoleon, but rather a sense of contempt and disdain. Instead of a grand love story, Josephine’s relationship with Napoleon seems more a manipulation to keep her status and exquisite lifestyle.
The battle sequences are truly superb and the highlights of the film. Ridley Scott brings to the screen visually breathtaking and shocking war scenes, including the Russian and Austrian troops being blown apart in the Battle of Austerlitz and how they fall into the icy, freezing water as the cannonballs come crashing down, breaking the ice and sending them down to their deaths.
Clocking in at two hours and 38 minutes, Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is a gripping, cinematic spectacle that should be experienced on the big screen to appreciate its art and craftsmanship.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, brief language, some grisly images, and strong violence
Release Date: The Apple Original Film will first be released exclusively in theaters worldwide, in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, on Wednesday, November 22, 2023 before streaming globally on Apple TV+.
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