Twigs - Napoleon
A mixed bag of historical dubiousness.
[Note: This review will discuss elements of Napoleon that were revealed in promotional material, such as trailers. If you’re someone who enjoys going into recent movies knowing as little as possible, you may want to skip reading this review.]
The history showcased in historical fiction sometimes takes the “fiction” element to heart.
Ridley Scott, best known for a variety of genre films like Alien and Gladiator, often prioritizes the entertainment value of his work. It’s a noble feat, as if one is not entertained while seeing a movie, they’re liable to either turn it off or not recommend it to others as they leave the theater. However, there comes a time where the entertainment value of a film needs to be scrutinized when compared to the historical accuracy of a person or time period it’s trying to portray. Which is part of the reason why, despite having some entertaining elements throughout, Napoleon left me with a lot to be desired.
The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as its titular protagonist, documenting the rise, fall, and legacy of France’s Emperor. However, the film is not just a display of the wartime tactics that turned him into the historically resonant conquerer he became. While this is one lens the historical figure is presented through, he’s also developed via his romantic relationship with Vanessa Kirby’s Josephine, who became his first wife and close comrade throughout his life. The film weaves war and romance together to create a unique vision of Napoleon—a version of the historical figure seldom portrayed in media. However, in focusing itself through two separate lenses weaved into one, the film ultimately feels underdeveloped, and often distracting because of its questionable historical presentation.
In general, the plot of the film follows both Napoleon’s conquest of France and beyond for some parts, while focusing on his relationship with Josephine in others. Yet, despite both parts of his life weaving together in some aspects, the film often felt jumpy when it came to displaying both ways of viewing his military career. War scenes are defined by his tactician mindset, making for impressive battle sequences filled with action-packed moments. Swathing armies fight in expertly choreographed sequences, all of which are the first elements I think of when remembering the movie. Meanwhile, romance scenes have a sometimes silly quality to them, making them feel parodic of Napoleon through the way he and Josephine interact. As the film goes on, however, these scenes grow more serious, tonally compacting with the war scenes throughout. But most of the movie presents both types of scenes in ways that create tonal whiplash. It often felt like being pulled out of one movie and dropped into another every time the focus changed. Instead of weaving these parts of Napoleon’s life together, the film jumps from one to the other, taking the flow of the film right along with it.
Because both storylines overlapping with one another often didn’t feel complementary. Instead, the differences each form of the story present made it difficult to fully get into what the movie was trying to accomplish. While it’s obvious the biopic is trying to show how war and romance intersected and impacted Napoleon’s life, it rarely felt successful in showcasing this. Instead, most of the movie felt like cutting back and forth between two different films. Luckily, this was remedied by the third act. But it doesn’t negate how odd the formatting was leading up to those last 45 minutes. The nearly 2 hours or so that it took to get there were awash with unsatisfactory transitions from one side of the story to the other. Given Scott’s plans to release an extended cut adding nearly 90 minutes to the movie, I feel like many of these issues will be addressed by a longer film. But, for a first cut, it felt very rough, and perhaps should have been lengthier to better encapsulate what the movie is trying to accomplish.
Because it’s clear a lot of effort went into this movie, both behind the camera and in front of it. David Scarpa’s script, while feeling choppy at times, had a thematic resonance by the end that made me understand what the film was trying to go for. Scott’s directing offered incredible battle sequences that were highly engaging, some of his most impressive visual work throughout his decades-long career. Performances from Phoenix and Kirby especially will probably net them some nominations when awards season rolls around (probably already have, I wager). The same goes for its many supporting actors, who capture the essence of France post-revolution in an engaging way. Because of these elements, I have to consider how endearing the effort to make such an ambitious film is. While it often felt jolting, incomplete, or like separate films spliced together, the amount of effort that clearly went into its presentation and writing make it hard to put the film down.
But there is one glaring issue the movie suffers that diffused some of its entertainment value: A lack of consistent historical accuracy. Now, I want to preface this by saying that historical accuracy in a biographical feature is not a make-or-break factor in my eyes. I know many events have been fictionalized or dramatized in order to make the movie more engaging. Bohemian Rhapsody is one of my favorite films in the last few years, and yet it’s riddled with historical inaccuracies. But, for me, what matters most in any film is the story and character writing. I can enjoy the Freddy Mercury biopic in spite of its historical flaws because it retains a level of truth in spirit and a consistent thematic resonance throughout. The reason why I bring up Napoleon’s historical errors is because the writing and presentation of the film is so all over the place. And nowhere is this better reflected than in the parts of the movie that feel out-of-place and inaccurate.
Much of the historical inaccuracies have to do with Napoleon’s characterization. There are many actions the French Emperor takes that seem out of character for the actual historical figure. While his tactical brilliance and ruthless behavior is on full display here, elements of his well-educated mind and charming demeanor in real life are absent. Instead, he’s depicted as a stoic soldier, making him feel like an outcast France is wary of despite historical records stating how his extroverted nature made the people adore him. There is also one scene in Egypt that is so goofy, it belongs in a Saturday morning cartoon. While it’s clear what Scott is trying to accomplish with his version of Napoleon, these aspects of the movie are disengaging because of the overall jumpy presentation of its two storylines. Because nothing feels truly focused and interwoven until the final third of the film, it makes most of the experience jumbled. Which, in turn, make the historical inaccuracies feel like a product of negativity for the film rather than a creative way to bolster it thematically.
The mixture of positive and negatives left me feeling unsatisfied with Napoleon as a whole. However, the elements of the film I did enjoy—the performances, the cinematography, the action sequences, and the entirety of the final act—make me curious about the extended cut Scott has teased for the future. While it’s unclear if it would fix all the negatives I saw in the movie, the positive elements were so highly engaging that I can’t deny my curiosity. Perhaps when the extended cut does get released, I’ll revisit the movie and put my thoughts here. Because while the experience was underwhelming, the parts I enjoyed were memorable enough that I would watch them for an extra 90 minutes.
Though the final cut was a mixed bag, I am curious to see what the longer version of the movie will be like.
***
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