This 2023 epic by Ridley Scott starring Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t quite hit the mark. There are lots of patches left blank such as Napoleon’s rise to power. In the film he is a soldier at the beginning, then it seems sudden that he is crowned emperor then suddenly again he has invaded the whole of Europe off screen.

Ridley Scott fails to go deep at any point, so what you get is a film of one event after another, often unlinked and unexplained, rather than a story.

I think it was probably a mistake to focus so much on his love life, at the expense of any political machinations, but that said, the film is reasonably enjoyable and the battle scenes are quite good. I was left with the feeling that the editors chopped too much out of the film. It would have been better to let it be a real epic of three plus hours rather than this ragbag collection of events skated over.

There is no sign of charisma in this portrayal of Napoleon. I would have expected one or more public speeches to demonstrate what appeal he had over France but this appeal is never alluded to. Other than that Joaquin Phoenix does a good job with the cursory script he is given, but the whole project is a missed opportunity. Napoleon’s story is still left untold.

The film also stars Rupert Everett as the Duke of Wellington in a weird casting decision and Vanessa Kirby being wonderful as Josephine. A longer version of the film is coming out on Apple TV.

Ailie Hunter
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