‘Napoleon’ is a beast of a movie, Ridley Scott – always a director ready to take the bull by the horns – seems up to the task, but as the film draws to its close, it becomes unclear if the film knows what it is about.
It could be fairly declared that Napoleon Bonaparte himself is unsure as he draws to the end of his life and maybe that is the point. Seems like a cop out though, the earlier half has verve and vigour and a sly sense of humour.
It is almost like a rock biopic in that sense, “Remember Napoleon when you were all about the battles and marrying your one true love? What happened to the revolution, man?”
The Napoleon of this picture played by Joaquin Phoenix is observed by the camera in a slice of life manner, for the most part he is quiet and restrained. His heart easily known by voiceovers recounting letters to his beloved Josephine. However, what did the Emperor Of France think of his rise through the ranks working for men who overthrew a monarchy, only to allow him to rule alone? How he found himself trapped into providing an heir at all costs like all the Kings of nations that he fought? The film will not give you a direct answer, and it feels like a lot is left on the table.
Yet there are flashes of raw humanity throughout, take for example Joaquin breathing heavily with adrenaline willing himself and whole armies into battle, or the way the aristocrat Josephine quietly seduces Bonaparte. When the movie gives us real moments of human interaction it sings. It also reinvents iconic moments of history and makes them flesh and blood. That is largely thanks to a stellar cast headed by Joaquin who is operating at the height of his powers here. He is ably matched by Vanessa Kirby as Josephine who, like her co-star, likes to do a lot with little until the moment comes to ramp it up.
The story makes the case that this woman was his muse and the centre of his will. Before he meets her, as a military officer he is ambitious but in search of purpose. After marriage and jealousy sets in, war clouds loom over Europe. Without her, is there any point to what he does?
For those who perished in those wars the answer would be clear, a truth Ridley underlines throughout his rendering of the battle of Austerlitz. Bonaparte refers to it in the years ahead as a rallying cry in battle for comfort, Ridley focuses in on those perishing during it.
Ridley remains a master of massive set pieces, this is an epic in the great sense of that word. He also ably marries this action with small domestic scenes focused on relationships. When the tale is over though, the parts have not made up a coherent whole. Napoleon may be too much for any one film, but ‘Napoleon’ remains an intriguing monster of a movie.
