Napoleon

 

Napoleon

If you are into history and especially military history this is your film. In full disclosure, real historians have criticized the film’s accuracy. For the rest of us, this two-and-a-half-hour movie may be a challenge. Given its epic proportions, this is basically a two-actor movie with a large supporting cast: Joaquin Phoenix is Napoleon and Vanessa Kirby is Josephine.

Phoenix’s emotional range is flat. He portrays Napoleon as stoic and dower. In other films, Phoenix demonstrated his great range of talent which was denied in this film. Phoenix displays Napoleon’s brutishness and as a great general Napoleon used his troops like cannon fodder sustaining sizable casualties. Phoenix displays Napoleon’s indifference to these massive fatalities. As a general Napoleon leads from the front and Pheonix demonstrates this steeliness. Phoenix executes Napoleon’s generalship with detachment and purpose. The film is humorless except when he copulates with Josephine; he breaks the land speed record.

As Josephine Kirby does the emotional heavy lifting. Her relationship with Napoleon is complicated. They love each other but the relationship is transactional. Kirby dramatizes the emotional burdens of loving a powerful man. Her feelings and persona are suppressed for the good of the nation. She is used for the greater good. She projects her hurt.

The battle scenes are spectacular and frankly too many. They take up a large portion of the film. The costuming is impressive and rich. The period pieces are museum quality. In the end, this is like a PBS production with a bloated budget.

Apple Studios is earmarking $1b a year on movies. So far with Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon they are rolling snake eyes.