Napolean Review: The French Emperor’s Glory and Defeat

France 1793. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror is in full swing. Marie Antoinette is beheaded as a young soldier looks on among the jubilated throngs. So begins Ridley Scott’s Napolean, an epic film saga starring Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line) in the title role and Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) as Empress Josephine. It’s an entertaining historical spectacle complete with battles (six!), royal intrigue, and a doomed love affair.

Napolean manifests the disparate sides of the imperious French leader; strategic, yet impulsive on the battlefield and confident, yet insecure inside the palace walls. He dominates the will of the public, politicians, and his troops, but never his wife. Kirby is alluring and aloof as the aristocratic Josephine. It’s a rather tortuous love affair bouncing from methodical sex to genuine, caring moments. Despite the energetic and frequent sex, there are no bells ringing announcing a forthcoming baby at Fountainebleau. In the end, all Emperors and Kings must have an heir. (Napolean’s mother brings him a trial prostitute to make sure he’s not infertile.) The only viable option for Napolean is divorce even though his ardent feelings for Josephine will never be extinguished. Remarkably, they write letters to each other regularly until Josephine dies in 1815, five years after they split.

If you’ve seen Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, or The Last Duel, you know Ridley Scott can choreograph monumental battle scenes. Napolean begins his military successes by blindsiding Anglo-Spanish forces at Toulon and quickly capturing the strategic port. He vanquishes the British forces in Egypt (Napolean orders cannonballs be fired at the pyramids, which while effective at portraying victory, didn’t happen), and the ultimate conquest at the Battle of Austerlitz. It’s difficult to exaggerate the historical significance of Austerlitz. It brought to an end the 1,000-year existence of the Holy Roman Empire. However, peace still alluded Europe and Napolean. His megalomaniacal decision to invade Russia in the dead of winter resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of French troops. Exiled to the island of Elba, he returns to rally his troops once more. He falls for the trap this time as British forces overwhelm him at Waterloo, sending Napolean to a crushing defeat and final banishment to St. Helena.

War and Josephine are Napolean’s guiding principles. While widely recognized as a genius for his strategy and tactics on the battlefield, Scott doesn’t hide the ultimate cost of these military adventures. The epilog has a running list per battle of the French lives lost, totaling about three million. Does Josephine mean even more to him than going off to war? He deserts his battle post in Egypt and rushes home upon hearing she is having an affair. He escapes from Elba, first and foremost, because Josephine is very sick and second to conduct the ill-fated Waterloo campaign. Napolean spends six lonely years on a large rock in the middle of the Atlantic with Josephine’s imaginary voice as his only refuge.

(Currently playing in theaters before streaming on Apple+ TV, 2h 38m running time.)

D² Rating ◼◼◼◩□

Trivia: Ridley Scott directed three films of which science fiction franchise? (Answer below)

Trivia: Joaquin Phoenix has been nominated for four Academy Awards, winning once for which film? (Answer below)

Trivia Answers: Ridley Scott directed three of the six Alien films (Alien and the two prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant). Number seven is coming in 2024, Alien: Romulus. Joaquin Phoenix was nominated for Gladiator, Walk the Line, and The Master, winning Best Actor for his role as Joker.