I’m not going to lie, my main motivation for seeing “Napoleon” last week was to see just which direction the film would take.
Honestly, I feel misled by the trailers I’ve seen the past few weeks.
Everything appeared to show a more realistic view of Napoleon.
I’d hoped to see more insight into the Frenchman’s motivations for power or even some defining moments in his past that would give a glimpse of the man behind the military tactician.
That wasn’t the case with this film and I found the pacing rather stagnant at times.
Napoleon is an epic historical drama film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa.
Based on the story of Napoleon Bonaparte, primarily depicting the French leader’s rise to power as well as his relationship with Empress Joséphine, the film stars Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon and Vanessa Kirby as Joséphine.
Other cast members include Tahar Rahim, Edouard Philipponnat, Sam Troughton, Paul Rhys, Miles Jupp, Sinéad Cusack, and Catherine Walker.
The movie clocks in at 157 minutes long and is rated R for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content, and brief language.
In 1793, amid the French Revolution, young army officer Napoleon Bonaparte (Phoenix) watched Queen Marie Antoinette (Walker) being beheaded by the guillotine.
Later that year, Revolutionary leader Paul Barras (Rahim) had Napoleon manage the Siege of Toulon; he successfully stormed the city and repelled the British ships with artillery.
After Maximilien Robespierre (Troughton) was deposed and executed at the end of the Reign of Terror, French leaders, including Napoleon, attempted to restore stability.
Again employing artillery, Napoleon suppressed the royalist insurrection on 13 Vendémiaire in 1795.
Napoleon woos aristocratic widow Joséphine de Beauharnais (Kirby) and the two eventually marry.
Despite their vigorous erotic life, they bear no children.
In Egypt, he prevails again at the Battle of the Pyramids in 1798, but rushes home when he hears Joséphine has been indiscreet with another man.
The Directory criticizes him for abandoning his troops, but he condemns them for their poor leadership of France and, as part of a trio, overthrows them in a coup and becomes First Consul.
Napoleon is crowned Emperor of the French by the pope in 1804, during which he audaciously puts the crown on his own head.
Foreign Minister Talleyrand (Rhys) suggests to Austria an alliance, though the Austrians dismiss the idea.
A year later, Napoleon outmaneuvers and defeats the Austrians and Russians at the Battle of Austerlitz, forcing them to retreat over frozen lakes before bombarding the ice and drowning them.
Afterward, he invites Austrian Emperor Francis II (Jupp) for wine — which Russian Tsar Alexander I (Philipponnat) declines to attend — and Napoleon tells Francis that since he did not totally destroy their armies, he expects the latter to be grateful.
Napoleon’s mother Letizia Bonaparte (Cusack), has him impregnate a mistress to prove that Joséphine is infertile.
And, historically, we all know how that and Napoleon’s future panned out – but seeing it on the big screen is another thing.
Overall, if you’re a history buff, I think you’ll get more out of this film than I did.
If not, waiting until it comes out on DVD or to some streaming service is your best bet.
