By Alice Wright
Napoleon is one of the most forgettable and disappointing films of the year. If you don’t know much about Napoleon before, you’ll know even less after watching it. If I was French, I would feel insulted.
Ridley Scott’s 160-minute biopic follows the rise and fall of French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, from his journey to power to his addictive relationship with Josephine, until his death in 1821.
It begins in 1789, when Marie Antoinette meets an unfortunate and sharp-bladed end as she is guillotined in the French Revolution. Swaying away from historical accuracy, a young Napoleon witnesses the gruesome execution among the taunting crowd.
Joaquin Phoenix plays the iconic French leader, who you’d expect to at least have a hint of a French accent. But no. In fact, none of the characters had one. Napoleon was a French Emperor and, of course, the film is set in France. Which was baffling that nobody even had an accent.
If you’re unsure of the history, then you’ll be completely lost in the plot as there’s no explanation or depth into characters. It fails to explore Napoleon’s character as an emperor or military leader. Instead, it flicks between famous battles and his personal life, with no room left for an in-depth exploration of the iconic leader. There’s too much focus on unnecessary sex and scenes filled with gore. Whilst that last element is gut-wrenching – at one point Phoenix pulls a cannonball from an exploded horse – it adds nothing to the story.
The colour scheme is bleak, blue and white with a lifeless colour palette almost reflecting how Napoleon approached his own life. Very cold and matter of fact.
The Gladiator director has tried to do too much by attempting to cover the Corsican artillery officer’s entire career. What could’ve been a historical epic about the original ‘short king’ is instead a missed opportunity. The biopic lacks structure and presents a surface level understanding of Napoleon’s life. Yes, the battle sequences are spectacular and brutal and completely steal the show – the Battle of Waterloo is the best part of the entire film – but the storytelling is confusing.
There were high expectations for this film, but like the colour scheme it uses, it’s dull.
