John Mulderig
Is “Napoleon” (Sony) dynamite? The answer might depend on whom you ask.
Viewers out for a sweeping spectacle will likely come away from director Ridley Scott’s historical epic satisfied. But those seeking insight into the conquering French emperor’s personality will find there’s a hollow ring to star Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of him. Battlefield gore and steamy sex scenes, moreover, make the film’s demanding fare suitable only for the hardiest grown-ups.
As Napoleon’s military and political career advances, he falls for the young widow Josephine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby). Screenwriter David Scarpa’s depiction of their relationship, however, is eccentric. Their dialogue carries undertones of a mutual, sadomasochistic desire for mastery, while their physical interaction is better fitted to a barnyard than a marital chamber.
Napoleon, the script would have us believe, was a weirdly awkward character. Phoenix fumes and smoulders but also delivers lines so out of place as to provoke laughter. The upshot is an unconvincing portrait, though the sequence devoted to his eventual divorce from Josephine – whom he still loved but who had failed to produce an heir – is poignant.
The climactic Battle of Waterloo is also handled impressively. But what precedes it, while sometimes visually striking, is flawed at a human level. Whether mature filmgoers ultimately reckon the artistic tally in the red or the black, they’ll have to be prepared for the numerous taxing elements included in this polished, but often implausible, retrospective.
Joaquin Phoenix told empireeonline.com of the irresistible pull of working with Ridely Scott. “The truth is, there was just a very nostalgic idea of working with Ridley again,” he said. “I had such an incredible experience working with Ridley on Gladiator, and I was so young. It was my first big production. I really yearned for that experience again, or something similar.”
Phoenix also shared the lengths he went to with Scott to portray Napoleon. “We sat for ten days, all day, talking scene by scene. In a sense, we rehearsed. Absolutely detail by detail,” he said. For his part, Scott compares the leader with leaders like ‘Alexander the Great, Adolf Hitler, Stalin.
“At the same time, he was remarkable with his courage, and in his can-do and in his dominance. He was extraordinary… I’m staring at Joaquin and saying, ‘This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte.’ He looks like him,” Scott said.
Picture: Joaquin Phoenix stars in a scene from the film “Napoleon.” (OSV News photo/Aidan Monaghan, Sony)