Napoleon was destined to be one of the great films of the end of 2023. The winner Ridley Scott was reunited with Joaquin Phoenixwith whom he already worked in Gladiator. Together, they returned to a similar genre, that of historical and epic drama. The ambitious plan, to bring to the big screen the entire life of one of the most important characters in the history of humanity. A macro project with which Apple TV+ has once again given everything to continue gaining prestige within the industry.
The tape begins with Napoleon Bonaparte living the last blows of the French Revolution. In that nation in constant change, with political revolts, angry citizens and guillotines, this little military strategist wants to rise to the top. Totally sure of himself, he carves out a niche and a name for himself until he ends up conquering half of Europe and proclaiming himself Emperor. His deeds – or his crimes depending on the eyes of whoever sees them – appear in all history books and are studied in all schools and universities on the planet.
Napoleon
Led by an imposing and restrained Joaquin Phoenix, Ridley Scott portrays the entire life of a man who wanted to be great and ended up crowning himself Emperor. Napoleon does not turn his protagonist into a hero or a villain, although his human drama is blurred by the cutting work in a film that should be twice as long. Fortunately, everything is alleviated with impressive war scenes in the director’s purest style.
The scissors Napoleon
In recent months, Ridley Scott has insisted on several occasions that the Napoleon that the public will be able to see in theaters is not exactly the film he had conceived. As in almost any project, the studio is the one who has the final say on the final assembly. And the director wanted to release a version of the film that was more than 4 hours long, but Manzana He left it in 2 hours and 40 minutes. That is, what can be seen in theaters is approximately half of the story that the director wanted to tell.
On many occasions, these cuts end up saving the films from being excessively long works that could generate rejection among the public. But this time he has played completely against Napoleon. Especially in its first hour and a half, the film is a collection of isolated scenes and sequences, independent of each other. All of them interesting in themselves, of course, the life of Bonaparte It’s what it has. But the common thread is very diffuse. Yes, the rise of the general and his ambition to expand into new territories is portrayed. Also his complex relationship with Josephine. But there is no central narrative that drives the film.
Everything happens before the viewer’s eyes, who will enjoy it, especially if they are a history lover. However, the work in the editing room is too noticeable. The problem may be with the premise of the film itself. Wanting to cover something as dense and prolific as the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte from start to finish requires a titanic compression effort. And to do it well, you need more footage time than they have left for you. Scott. In the end, the rhythm is as fast as it is irregular. The opportunity to empathize with the characters is not offered as much as it should be. There is also an unexpected comic aftertaste in many moments that, when it works, relieves and gives softness. But when he doesn’t, it takes him out of the movie.
It’s true that all the chaos is smoothed out in the final act. The film takes itself much more calmly and patiently, establishing the ideas about the character’s decline much better. The ending is more balanced and allows you to savor it with pleasure. Key so that such a long film does not become heavy. The development of recent years Napoleon It is quite good and makes up for the clumsy and hasty initial approach to his coming to power.
Epic and without judgment
To alleviate the heavy brush in the story caused by the montage, Ridey Scott It has its best asset, the epic. He is 85 years old and is still the director who does it best and easiest in the industry. The film can spend half an hour with scenes about Napoleon in Paris or anywhere else, busy with his public and private tasks. But it’s getting to the battlefield, and everything takes on a new meaning. The film goes up a notch and becomes a brutal spectacle full of action, tension, deaths and blood. Ideal to see on the big screen.
Hand in hand with a meticulous production design, a mammoth soundtrack and unique skill with the camera, Scott creates insanely entertaining sequences. See Napoleon Planning the strategy, anticipating the movements of your opponents, is extremely fun. The director does not lose his magic to carry out these types of scenes with grace. The only shame is that there aren’t even more battles, since the director had a unique catalog to choose from.
Furthermore, there is something very interesting in Napoleon and it is his point of view. This is a historical figure whose perception is very different depending on who you ask. Therefore, to avoid misunderstandings, Scott He decides to observe him from the outside. She looks at him with the same distance in his greatest successes and in his most despicable moments. He is a character with a very difficult shell to break through, and the director does not need to make him too permeable. There is no intention to glorify him, which was the fear of a part of the public. He doesn’t ridicule him excessively either, although he humanizes him and easily shows his lowest moments.
Only in some intimate scenes with Josephine -and not in all of them- the character is left naked, vulnerable so that the viewer can truly see him. These moments are probably more numerous in the director’s cut, but in this version what we see is a proud, cold, fearsome man, at times admirable and at times detestable and pathetic. Once again, the script fails to present him acting without clearly exposing the reasons that drive him to be this way. His thirst for conquest is openly appreciated, but why is not explained.
Josefina and the comedy of Phoenix
I really wanted to see Joaquin Phoenix in Napoleon. The Oscar-winning interpreter of joker He was once again heading a project of enormous magnitude. And he measures up, basically because he is a great actor in an undaunted state of form. His Bonaparte He is a stoic and serious man, and he nails that, adding subtle nuances in each sequence. He has the problem that the character is conceived in the script as someone who is not very expressive. That reduces its strength to shine brighter. He’s a great performance from the standpoint, but it’s not ecstatic and visceral, as might have been anticipated.
The counterpart is the Josephine of Beauharnais of Vanessa Kirby. Scott had warned that he wanted to give a lot of importance in the story to the wife of Napoleon. The decision is very correct and the choice of the actress is a key pillar for the film. Her human drama is much deeper and more coherent than that of the Emperor. The construction of her story would make for its own project. In a film so distant from what is told, kirby It tears all the seams with eyes full of sadness, melancholy and non-conformity. An excellent job on the part of the interpreter in the brilliant rereading of Scott.
As a whole, Napoleon It is a great film that will aspire to be totemic with the director’s editing. The theatrical version exudes spectacle and epic in its bloody battles, but is lost among the disconnected ellipses of a drama that fails to clearly present the motivations of its protagonist. The result is very enjoyable, although its irregular rhythm makes it far from the magnum opus of historical cinema that it could be. In any case, Ridley Scott once again expands his legend with a very notable film. The director, once again, does not disappoint.