REVIEW: Napoleon (2023)

Movie Reviews

Napoleon feels like a clip show of what may well be a great movie. At two and a half hours, it feels rushed, with too little time devoted to establishing the titular conqueror or his beloved Joséphine, not to mention the many battles and political maneuvering that defined his career. We get snippets of almost everything, just enough to qualify for a school lecture but not enough to enthrall or entertain. There are terrific moments and some spectacular filmmaking, but it’s a shadow of what the real movie must be.

Napoleon traces the ascension of Napoleon Bonaparte from soldier to general to first consul to Emperor of the French, focusing on his ambition, his patriotism, and his love for his eventual wife, Joséphine.

That’s a story ready-made for a terrific movie, and Napoleon could have been that if it had taken its time and explored the various facets of the man’s history. But, as with many modern films, Napoleon feels like it’s in a rush to get through its story rather than tell it, especially as it goes along. The first twenty to thirty minutes focus on his victory at the Siege of Toulon, with his strategy winning the battle for the French and garnering him a promotion. From a storytelling perspective, this is the best part of the film and the most revealing of Napoleon as a man: strategy, fear, bravery, arrogance, desperation, honor, and opportunism are all a part of him, and Joaquin Phoenix captures each of these facets perfectly in relatively little time.

Everything after that is zipped through at warp speed; each transition from one section of Napoleon’s life to the next comes with almost no preamble, which robs the audience of seeing how he rose to each level of power he assumes. Many of his victories are simply mentioned in passing, while others are shown in such broad strokes that you get no sense of how he won, or that he even did. For example, a scene set during the Battle of the Pyramids, where he orders his cannons to fire on the Egyptian Pyramids, is being questioned for its historical accuracy, but that’s the least of its problems (if it even is a problem, which I don’t believe it is); it’s a moment used as a substitute for a battle we never see, and it doesn’t work. The focus is on Napoleon’s ego and ambition, which is fine, but we need to understand why he’s so proud of himself, and the film rarely shows us.

We get a better sense of his storied romance with Joséphine, but this is given short shrift as well. There are some great moments between the two, and we understand the attraction, but their initial courtship is too quick, going from that first spark to eternal devotion in the blink of an eye. It’s a shame because Napoleon paints a fascinating picture of their relationship; they’re two insecure co-dependents who need to be needed by each other, and while they share genuine affection, their egos get in the way of their ability to make each other happy. Vanessa Kirby is excellent as Joséphine, giving her as many human contradictions as Phoenix gives Napoleon, and most scenes between the two are electric, but a stronger foundation is needed to make us understand why and how they love each other, to feel the pain of their tragic story, which doesn’t hit the way it should.

When the movie works, though, it’s excellent. There are some incredible scenes peppered throughout Napoleon, and not just the too few battles. The film opens with the execution of Marie Antoinette, and it’s important not just to establish this era of French history but to introduce the theme of crafting a public persona to mask one’s humanity. As she’s marched to the guillotine amid a jeering crowd throwing food at her, the queen holds her head high, maintaining her aura of power and nobility in the face of the inevitable. But once she gets to the stock, she shows her fear, knowing that, despite her poise and feigned resolve, she’s about to have her head chopped off. The manufactured persona is present in Napoleon and Joséphine as well, masking their doubts, fears, and sorrows  through perceived arrogance and unflappability. And while Marie Antoinette can only share her true self with the blade, Napoleon and Joséphine at least have each other.

When the battles do come, they’re exhilarating and horrifying, with Ridley Scott demonstrating that he hasn’t lost his touch on that front. The brutal effects of cannon balls, swords, and, in some cases, the natural elements are so visceral you feel like you’re experiencing war with the soldiers on the screen. The cost of war is tallied throughout the film as well, not so much as a judgment against Napoleon but as a reminder that so many people invariably die for things that, in retrospect, seem petty, like shifting political allegiances. Likewise, the terrifying atmosphere of the French Revolution and its aftermath doesn’t judge either side but presents the realities of bloody uprisings, the heated emotions they generate, and the inevitable reactions to those new in power who need the spirit of revolt to go away. Napoleon deserves a lot of credit for never making some ham-handed connection between French history and modern events, and the movie is better for it.

What ultimately sinks Napoleon is time; there isn’t enough of it to tackle such a broad canvas as the career of Napoleon Bonaparte. Had it focused solely on his military campaigns or his romance with Joséphine, perhaps it would have been more successful, but for everything it tries to fit into its narrative, two and a half hours isn’t enough. Ridley Scott says there is a four-hour cut of Napoleon that he hopes to release, and I would love to see that; an extra ninety minutes would have done this film wonders. In its current state, it’s worth a watch for the things it gets right, for the glimpses of greatness that survived what I’m sure was a mandated brush fire of an edit, but it will leave you convinced there’s so much more to see.