Little Man Writ Large - Napoleon, Reviewed

Sir Ridley Scott's Napoleon was a movie I had really hoped to see in IMAX, but with the whole household suffering from colds at the time it was released, it was just not to be. Today, a month later, Audrey and I finally got to see it, and since our anniversary is on Tuesday, we splurged on VIP seats.

I highly suggest VIP for this film but really all movies over two-and-a-half hours. That's not to say Napoleon feels long; Napoleon Bonaparte's life was eventful enough that you are never left dangling for an excessive amount of time before there is some more political intrigue, or another battle or another development in his relationship with Josephine.

And this relationship is really the hinge of the movie almost every time it is away from the battlefield. Now, I like history, but know very little about post-revolutionary France and everything I know about the Napoleonic wars comes from the books and shows about Richard Sharpe. Which, to be fair, has tremendous content about the period, but very little about Napoleon himself.

Joaquin Phoenix does an excellent job portraying a man at once confident of his abilities yet insecure about his place in the world. His infatuation and dedication to Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) is both understandable and inexplicable, sometimes within the same scene.

Kirby's performance is mercurial, and takes Josephine from a widowed aristocrat to the Empress of France, but the story is forced to focus on her marital indiscretions and inability to produce an heir. 

It is all handled very well, and the sets and costumes are sumptuous, but the scale of the battle scenes are what made the movie a standout for me, particularly Austerlitz and Waterloo. I am certain CGI must have been used, not once could I point out any poorly rendered bits or uncanny valleys. There are no impossible establishing shots, or cameras following cannonballs or mortar shells into the shocked faces of their targets. 

Whether watching from above as shells shatter the ice around fleeing infantry, or circling a British square with hapless French cavalry, the exquisite balance between order and chaos that Sir Ridley is known for keeps you transfixed. It is nothing short of amazing that he filmed this entire epic in 61 days, but with him using 11 cameras simultaneously for each battle, maybe more credit should be given to his lead editor, Claire Simpson.

Sadly, as much as I want Scott to win a Best Director Oscar one of these days, I don't think Napoleon is the film to give it to him. Maybe it is the lack of surprises, maybe Joaquin channeling "Old Boney's" egocentrism makes him too difficult to relate to, but there was just not enough of an emotional connection to the story to engage me the way, say, Black Hawk Down did. Maybe he will have better luck with Gladiator 2 next year?

At any rate, there is still a lot to like for history and movie buffs alike - the sets, costumes, hair, and such are amazing, and the battle sequences even more so. But at 2:38, make sure to choose a comfortable seat.