As one of the few people known mononymously in history, Napoleon stands among the likes of Jesus, Aristotle and Beyoncé. As one can imagine, telling his story is no small feat.
“Napoleon,” directed by Ridley Scott and starring Joaquin Phoenix as the movie’s namesake, was released on Nov. 22, 2023. I found it to be enjoyably captivating with its action and humor, but annoyingly messy when it came to telling Napoleon’s complex stories. In short, the film bit off more than it could chew.
Napoleon Bonaparte is first introduced as a young French military general who is new to the game and determined to prove himself. We watch his peak as France’s victorious emperor, then witness his downfall as he spends his melancholic final years in exile. Napoleon’s love life holds a major part in the film. At first, he struggles to find love, but then meets Josephine (Vanessa Kirby). The two have a complicated relationship as they struggle for control throughout their marriage, divorce, and then live the rest of their lives separately wondering what could have been.
Despite the length of the movie, two hours and 38 minutes, I didn’t get bored. There was no shortage of action throughout the film, and I particularly appreciated its detailed portrayal of Napoleon’s strategic prowess. I especially appreciated the depiction of his victory in the Battle of Austerlitz in which Napoleon used a tactic of Fredrick the Great’s to destroy the Allies’ (Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia) forces atop the lake’s icy surface. In the stretches of time between each battle, the movie kept me amused with dry, ironic comedic moments.
While the action and humor were commendable, the plot itself was unfocused. Napoleon was infamous for his military greatness, and while his success was certainly shown and talked about, the sheer volume of his power was not expressed sufficiently. This guy rose to become one of the most powerful and influential men of his time, but the climb was so fragmented in the film that when Napoleon was crowned the Emperor of the French, I got the sense that it was supposed to be super epic, but it just felt kind of sudden and mild because the buildup was hardly apparent.
Not only did the film fail to sufficiently portray Napoleon’s successes, but also his romantic journey. Throughout the film, we see Napoleon fall in love with Josephine, marry her, fail to have a baby with her, divorce her and then cry after she dies. When Josephine dies, the lengthy scene and dramatic music dedicated to her death and Napoleon’s reaction suggests that the connection between Napoleon and Josephine was very deep. However, the rest of the movie indicated that they spent most of their time as sexually-frustrated penpals; the pair only exchanged a small amount of meaningful dialogue and did not spend much time together. Overall, I don’t think I felt as sad as I should at Josephine’s death.
The film offered just about as much on Napoleon’s character as a history textbook would- in other words, not enough. The movie did provide a couple odd glimpses into Napoleon’s insecurities as he struggles for power with his wife, which I admired, and the parallels drawn between Napoleon’s struggle for political power and his struggle for power in his interpersonal relationships were clever. However, the film’s presentation of Napoleon’s psyche felt vague and contradictory.
The directors also couldn’t seem to decide on a stance when it came to Napoleon’s morality. Napoleon is portrayed as a loser who made his way to the top, so we root for him and even pity him when the tides turn against him. Despite being an intense French nationalist who crowned himself Emperor, he is not depicted as egotistical or villainous. It seems like the film is trying to show him in a positive light. Yet, just before the movie ends, the screen presents a list of the French casualties in each of Napoleon’s battles, suggesting he has all their blood on his hands. This contradicted the film’s positive portrayal of Napoleon, which bothered me. Like…pick a side.
The film took us through Napoleon’s first successful battle, his first successful romance and his first successful Emperorship. Then it immersed us in Napoleon’s slow, staggering descent from that height. While the film did deliver an entertaining story about how the infamous military commander rose to and fell from power while grappling with his romantic life, it bit off more than it could chew and was unable to convey a clear or meaningful message about the protagonist’s struggles, identity and legacy.
