THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
In modern life you can be a handful of things but in the past, people had the choice to be an innovator or a dictator. If Ridley Scott's Napoleon proved anything, many preferred the latter.
PLOT
The 2023 film chronicles the life of French historical figure Napoleon Bonaparte, from rise to fall. In 1793, he was an army officer who saw Marie Antoinette's beheading and was later assigned to manage the Siege of Toulon, where he would repel the British. When the Reign of Terror ended due to the deposition & execution of Maximilien Robespierre, he would try to restore France's stability while also suppressing the royalist insurrection on 13 Vendemiaire in 1795. He would later marry aristocratic widow Josephine de Beauharnis but would not quickly conceive children despite the fact both had vigorous sex lives. In 1798, Napoleon would abandon his troops during the Battle of the Pyramids upon discovering his wife had an affair with a younger man. He would be criticized by the Directory for this decision, but would give a defense when pointing out they have poor leadership, causing him to overthrow them all in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and become First Consul. In 1804, he would become Emperor of the French but would act with disrespect by putting the crown on his own head, which is against tradition. When Austria dismisses the idea of an alliance, he would defeat Austria's and Russia's forces in the Battle of Austrelitz, forcing them to retreat. He would invite both Austria's France II and Russia's Tsar Alexander I for wine, in which the latter turns down. In 1810, he would discover Josephine to be infertile which would make him decide to divorce her but still keep in touch even after marrying Marie Louise of Austria and conceive Napoleon II. In 1812, he would then invade Russia after Alexander reneges on the Treaties of Tilsit. After losing half a million men to Don Cossacks at the Battle of Borodino, he would retreat and be exiled to Elba. In 1815, he would choose to escape upon hearing Josephine is falling ill. He would return to power in France within The Hundred Days, but she would pass away before they could ever reunite. Napoleon's final defeat would occur during the Battle of Waterloo, when his war against Duke of Ellington would backfire due to his forces being defeated by reformed lines. When the Prussian Marshal Blucher arrives as reinforcements for the duke, Napoleon would have no other choice but to retreat. His second exile would take place at an island of Saint Helena where he would write false memoirs where he was always right. When passing away in 1821, he would imagine Josephine beckoning to rejoin her. The film would end in an epilogue revealing about 3 million died within the span of the Coalition Wars.
THOUGHTS
Historical dramas/biopics are known to catch for better or worse, especially when filmmakers like Ridley are at the helm. In this case, this is another where it is for the best because I was again stunned of what he brought to the table. It had this unlikely enigma you wouldn't be intrigued with until the story kicks in and the said feeling will leave you hooked. Like any period piece, the best use of accuracy definitely goes to the costume/makeup design to feel like you're a part of history. But the real breathtaking thing about this feature has to be the Oscar nominated visual effects because the digital technology succeeds in bringing to life landscapes of the past and it all looks so glorious. These said efforts benefit on feeling the stakes on each battle sequences we get to see. When you add Joaquin Phoenix's stellar performance as the titular figure (in his first collaboration with Ridley since Gladiator), you get the sense of understanding this picture is telling us that anything can bring us down when we least expect it and in this case, the perspective is that Napoleon lost his power due to his high amount of lust. A lust for power and control which he expressed both as a leader and a lover. Phoenix portrayed Napoleon as one who was deeply ambitious to do whatever sounded impossible and for the most part, it was quite effective. He was definitely a smart one when it mattered as I would've not predicted trapping the enemy on a frozen lake to be effective which was badass on his part no matter how merciless he'd still be remembered for. What is different from whatever has been done before is that here, the need for control really clouded his judgment which is what happened when it came to his relationship with Josephine. Even though he never left Egypt in real life because of her, that alone implies how much he was infatuated with her. Despite this said feeling, he still saw her as an object especially when she couldn't give him what he wanted. No matter how mixed feelings he had over her, Vanessa Kirby showed her to be one who acted out of survival. She got along with Napoleon at first because they both related to being outsiders and was more impressed of his ambition than one would be frightened of. I don't blame her because it's hard to not raise an eyebrow for one with any military prowess at the time. Her death is easily looked at as sadder than Napoleon's because since the latter never gave her true respect, you know she deserved a better equal than. If there is an afterlife and if Napoleon does have regret of his actions towards her, then they'll likely meet each other in whatever crossroads they find themselves in. To wrap up, 2023's Napoleon was an impressive story of how falling from grace will always happen when least prepared. If period pieces are up your alley, good luck with this one.
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