Ridley Scott's Napoleon has arrived in theatres and after watching it, I think it's a well-made
film, but one that I'm hugely dissapointed by.
The direction, the production work and the central performances are all things
that I feel very strongly of, but certain choices in the adaptation of Napoleon's history,
the editing of the story and the portrayed character work make this less effective than
it could have been.
I love Ridley Scott as a filmmaker and I think he's given us some absolute historic movies
throughout his career, but I do think that like some of his more
recent films, this had the potential to be much better.
So in this video, I'm going to be listing the main reasons why I think Napoleon
was a flawed adaptation of this historical figure, but one that still has solid filmmaking.
This video essay will contain brief spoilers, so if you do happen to be someone who
hasn't seen the film yet, then I would recommend watching this video after you've seen it.
Before I get into it though, if you want to keep up to date on any of my upcoming content
for auteur driven films Ridley Scott's Napoleon, then don't forget to support this upload by
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But without further a do, lets dive into my thoughts on Napoleon.
So Napoleon is a film that covers the French military commander’s rise from outsider
to emperor and eventually, exile.
It's a project that attempts to give us a deeper
understanding of him personally, and help us reflect on his fragilities as a man.
We see it from the perspective of Joaquin Phoenix's Napoleon during the French Revolution,
the Siege of Toulon in 1793, and his rise to political
power, showcasing his military and tactical dominance in the battles the occur across
Europe.
But this is contrasted by his relationship with his eventual wife, Empress
Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby.
Their turbulent marraige and struggles to produce an heir is something that gives the
film its much needed storytelling and depth, and it's
ultimately an element that I wanted much more of.
That's because while Napoleon does have very effective moments when it comes to
both of these central characters, the complete package feels like a greatest hits montage
more that it feels like effective storytelling with a central thrust.
As it went on I couldn't help but think about the many scenes
that are missing from the film, scenes that you'd either think would be in that 4 hour
directors cut that Ridley Scott has spoken about or scenes that didn't work with the
overall edit and vision.
Introductions to other characters aren't there, or sequences of those acknowledging or challenging
Napoleon’s genius.
When we do question this it's either in the many moments between Napoleon and Josephine
or in that excellently staged final battle of Waterloo that delivers the message
I was desperate for this film to deliver.
When it comes to what was missing, one cannot help but point out the lack of plotting, no
assassination plots during the French Consulate or no deeper unpacking of the revolution.
It takes the main battles and beats from Napoleon's personal life and edits them together in tight
knit fashion.
We get little screentime dedicated to his relationship with his brother,
his other siblings or his mother.
Now I get Ridley went for this stylistic telling of Napoleon as a figure, but if you're going
to give us a greatest hits telling, you need
that deeper exploration of character to make us truly connected to what's going on.
And again, maybe that 4 hour cut that's on the way
will give us a lot more.
Still, this is the theatrical release of the movie and I think I was expecting much more
when it came to Scott's character depiction of Napoleon and how
he presented this story.
What I will say is that the potential for it is there and by the end I was definitely
onboard with the approach to contrasting Napoleon’s battlefield
successes with his failure to find the love he so desperately needs from Joséphine.
It's an endless struggle between two tough individuals, each dealing with their own anxieties.
Taking that great foundation and exploring it more is where this could have been even
better.
But while I'm disappointed by that particular approach in Napoleon, there are some really
strong elements of this film that make me feel like Scott has still got it.
With its $200 million budget, many of them are visual choices.
Scott with longtime cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, shows his masterful approach to filming
large scale sequences beyond the use of CGI.
And with many filmmakers and studios opting to use the latter and much of the time use
it in a bad way, I can't help but support Scott's approach in using the few VFX shots
in complementary fashion rather than overdooing it.
His focus on scale during these historical battles, and seeing how he's evolved from
films like Gladiator and Kingdom Of Heaven, gives us a somewhat culmination of his epic
filmmaking.
But while the battle sequences are all expertly pulled off, they also feel like they serve
a purpose, showing us new aspects of Napoleon's character, and highlighting
his development across the course of the runtime.
We get a clear depiction of Napoleon’s nerves during the Siege of Toulon,
we see his genius in battle at Austerlitz with the many traps he sets, and then eventually
the arrogance that blinds him during the battle of Waterloo.
How he balances Napoleon's outlook and dictacting of the action against
what it tells us about him internally is done so well, and I'd argue, done much better than
the dialogue driven moments between characters.
That being said it's effective to see the back and forth between stunningly designed
battlefields and dim lit rooms of power, making you feel a sense of history in
every scene.
So from a filmmaking and visual perspective, Ridley Scott's storytelling is just as powerful
as it was back in the heights of his epic career.
It's in the dialogue driven scenes that I expected more character
depth, and if it wasn't for the calibre of performers, I think it would have turned out
a whole lot worse.
Joaquin Phoenix is as good as you would imagine, bringing a level of
simplicity to his performance, but one that is effective with every glance or motion.
His further outbursts communicate his fragility and
again a level of contrast between the many troubling aspects of Napoleon's life.
We get a small hint of both his personal vulnerability with that of his public persona, and I can
only expect that this will be even more effective in that 4 hour cut of the film.
Now there are things that others may find quite jarring though, and to be honest this
may just come down to taste.
Whether it be absurd moments of humour or even the use of mainly british accents amongst
many different figures from multiple nations.
I personally was fine with the humour aspect and I actually found
it quite effective in the scenes it was used.
But when it comes to the issue with accents, it did take me out of it at times and I
think there could have been a different approach taken.
But yeah, as a whole, performance and filmmaking wise the film does holds up, and if you think
that this will drive your enjoyment of the film, then you'll probabaly
end up liking a lot of what Ridley has to offer here.
In my opinion, Napoleon had the potential to be much more.
The 2 and a half hour theatrical cut gives us a quick summary of the historical figure,
transitioning between his relationship with Joséphine and effective
battles that extend from the political.
Many scenes from the trailers don't appear in the theatrical cut, and you can only predict
that with extra time, Scott could really flesh
out characters more, the relationship between Napoleon and Joséphine, and make the whole
thing that much more effective from a storytelling perspective.
While not everything is accurate from a historical point of view, my problem isn't with that,
but rather, the way this theatrical version is put together.
Scott isn’t focussed on conveying every aspect of history
to film, he's interested in artistically and visually communicating the important ideas
of a story to the big screen format and fully realising his Hollywood epics.
That aspect is something that mostly works, and I have no issue with a unique approach
being taken.
A lot of what does work takes place in the battle scenes and especially the final
act of the film, with the battle of Waterloo and the depiction of Napoleon's failed relationship
with Josaphine.
But with all that working, there's much of the film where more
character depth is needed, especially in the dialogue scenes that are meant to give us
exactly that.
As they are, we're given a bullet point idea of Napoleon's rise.
So it leaves me thinking that maybe the 4 hour version will give us that depth and allow
many scenes to have a lot more breathing room.
Some might like the approach to the way it was
put together and there's no denying the potential of it, but I personally think that the overall
execution from a character and storytelling perspective, was quite disappointing.
But that was my review for Ridley Scott's Napoleon.
The filmmaker's latest film has its undeniable strengths, whether it be the pure visuals
that he's crafted for the big screen or the scale of the battles and Napoleon's
intelect during them.
However, in many areas it feels like its lacking and I think there's a lot of room for improvement.
If anything, the things that work excite me for what the
director will do with his extended cut of Napoleon and also with his Gladiator sequel,
but then when it comes to the storytelling and
characters, I hope Ridley will focus on improvement.
We'll have to see, but I'm hopeful that Napoleon can act as a somewhat step in the right direction
for his future work.
I'm giving Ridley Scott's Napoleon a rating of
6.5 out of 10.
But to those who have already seen the film what do you think of Ridley Scott's Napoleon
and do you agree that it's a solid film but one with many flaws.
Again, it's all subjective and I appreciate a range of reactions and reviews, so let me
know down below in the comments section what you thought
towards it.
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