Napoleon review: A disturbed and disgusting little man

Frankly, there are enough films about men doing what they want – but if anyone gets a pass to explore that in more depth, it’s Ridley Scott. Unsurprisingly, there’s a zero-f*cks-given attitude oozing out of every pore in Napoleon, both behind and in front of the camera.

The historical epic is a feather in the cap of any director who is destined to be on a path of timeless success. With a back catalog including Alien, Blade Runner, and Gladiator, Ridley Scott has been circling in this realm for a long time already. Though Gladiator touches on a world we can no longer access, Scott’s take on 18th century France bridges some form of reality into his body of work.

However, this reality is overwhelmingly boisterous, lurid, and downright disgusting. In a nutshell – it’s more historically accurate than any expert could say was true. Why not use a wartime legend if it makes a scene effortlessly cooler, and more importantly, is a testament to the man too big for his boots?

If Napoleon himself were to direct this film, his self-portrait onscreen would nearly match Scott’s frame for frame. It doesn’t always work and often becomes so offputting that the 2-hour 40-minute runtime becomes excruciating to watch. But in the context of the French Revolution, that’s exactly what Bonaparte would have wanted.

A fancy hat only gets you so far

All is war in Napoleon – and in the centuries-past Western world, all war is a battle of bravado. The pinnacle of this arrogance is Napoleon Bonaparte, usurping power by rising through the ranks after the Royals received the fate of the guillotine. From there, Napoleon waged war on the rested of Europe for a variety of non-sticking reasons, other than his vested hatred of the British. As the movie pays tribute to, three million soldiers died on his watch.

Scott’s depiction of history in the late 18th century is one of two minds, either intently focusing on moments which may or may not hold truth or completely skipping periods of time with no explanation. This erratic and unknowable display pays homage to Napoleon’s wanton behavior, but it doesn’t make for digestable viewing. On top of this, Bonaparte and the world around him are disturbing in every sense of the word – including misogyny, a blatant disregard for anything outside self-serving actions, and war involving an incredible amount of gut-spilling.

The performances here aren’t exactly riveting either. While almost every European accent is accounted for other than the French, Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t always gel as someone fearless and cold-hearted. Phoenix has clearly had his best of the year with Beau Is Afraid, while love interest Vanessa Kirby is swept to the side and underused. However, there’s also an argument for Phoenix that there isn’t much to perform – after all, all Bonaparte really did was stick his fingers in his ears every time a canon was fired.

Epic battle scenes curry favor

Columbia Pictures

It makes sense then that Scott himself is the star of this Napoleon saga. The movie has a healthy number of battle scenes, each packing a plethora of details into wide-scale action. On their own, each is an astonishing feat, with viewers easily getting lost in the brutal intricacies of war. Being the part of life where Napoleon supposedly excelled, it’s safe to say that Scott fulfils the perpetuated fantasy.

If the British war movie wasn’t more tailored to a commercial Sunday afternoon feel, Napoleon would be the sort of film the UK would like to make about itself. Valiant, unyielding in its efforts, and often reaping the benefits of glory, Napoleon is the perfect masquerade for how to present victory to the outside world. Every aspect rings true for a man who consistently redefined who he claimed to be, including his supposed love for wife Josephine (Kirby).

At the same time, Napoleon is marmite in the art of war. Nothing onscreen resonates well enough to make it emotive past a point of immediate repulsion, with too many questions left hanging over as to what happened between the gaps. The movie feels its runtime, with the act of sitting down to watch a battle in itself. As the Duke of Wellington (Rupert Evertt) points out, battle is something Napoleon can never resist – and with this movie, he’s intent on taking viewers to the cleaners.

Napoleon review score: 3/5

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon undoubtedly mirrors the disturbed and disgusting little man that Bonaparte really was, even if the end result is somewhat jarring.

Blasting away the stories, trinkets, and revelry to highlight a minor man who never actually did much of anything doesn’t feel like it was Scott’s intention, but in the midst of overarching battle, that’s exactly what he has achieved, for better or worse.

Napoleon releases in theaters on November 22. You can check out our other TV & movies reviews here.