"Napoleon": Joaquin Phoenix marches through world history
The Napoleon complex refers to the attempt to compensate for perceived short stature with confrontational behavior and status symbols. Not every individual in human history is honored with the dubious distinction of having a psychological deficiency named after them.
Even 200 years after his death, the myth-building around Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), which he actively contributed to throughout his life, seems to be far from complete. However, with the collaborative film "Napoleon" (released in theaters on November 23), director Ridley Scott (85) and lead actor Joaquin Phoenix (49) are not building a cinematic monument. Rather than focusing on the strategic strengths, the film centers on the human weaknesses of the titular character.
Two-front war - that's the focus
Through his equally sophisticated and ruthless approach, Napoleon Bonaparte (Phoenix) quickly rises from a military leader to the French Emperor. However, off the battlefield, the capricious man is interested in only one thing: the beautiful and self-confident Joséphine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby, 35).
With his one true love, who becomes Empress by his side, Napoleon shares a passionate and destructive relationship. Affairs, displays of power, and the increasingly hopeless wait for a male heir—does the strategic genius perhaps wage a futile battle on two fronts?
One man, two roles
With "Joker" (2019), Phoenix paved his way to the Best Actor Oscar as the title character plagued by inferiority complexes. In "Napoleon," he seems to want to repeat this feat, but with a crucial difference: as a comic character, he underwent a transformation from a pitiful yet human figure to a self-confident monster. In "Napoleon," he plays both ends of this spectrum simultaneously.
"I am the first to admit when he makes a mistake. But I just don't make any." With this attitude, Napoleon presents himself in public, convincingly, as success always seems to justify him. It certainly helps that he can discard any scruples to achieve his goals: He quashes a population uprising in its infancy by firing cannons at them without warning or batting an eye.
This diabolical self-confidence is contradicted by Scott whenever he portrays Napoleon in private with Joséphine. Here, the great military commander, chosen by God himself, becomes a whining, Oedipal figure: in his pleas for intimacy, he makes sounds reminiscent of an infant demanding his mother's breast. After a few seconds of awkward copulation, with his beloved staring blankly into space, the tragicomedy is over.
Too much ambition?
The problem: The film itself is presented as hastily as Napoleon with his pants down. It races through history: from the French Revolution—where Marie Antoinette loses her head once again, in a highly graphic manner—to Napoleon's crushing defeat at Waterloo, which serves as the film's finale. The strictly chronological narrative sometimes feels like flipping through a history book in a hurry. Additionally, Scott aims to show not only the battles but also their geopolitical backgrounds and the private life of the main character. However, the roughly two and a half hours of "Napoleon" in theaters are far from sufficient for such detailed exploration.
In this regard, Scott overreaches in a similar way to Christopher Nolan (53) did with "Oppenheimer" in the summer. Both projects have resulted in good films, no doubt. However, both would have benefited from focusing more on less. For comparison, the film "Waterloo" from 1970 (featuring Christopher Plummer and Orson Welles) is almost as long as "Napoleon" and only deals with the titular fiasco of 1815.
But this criticism could soon be addressed, if not in theaters: "Napoleon" is an Apple production that finds its way to cinemas through Sony Pictures. In other words, Napoleon could conquer living rooms via the Apple TV+ streaming service soon and, potentially, in a much more detailed version. Ridley Scott announced in September of this year that he had created a "fantastic" Director's Cut of the film, which is said to be nearly four and a half hours long. It may sound excessive, but an old-school epic requires its (over)length: "Ben Hur" also runs for over 220 minutes...
Even 200 years after his death, the myth-building around Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), which he actively contributed to throughout his life, seems to be far from complete. However, with the collaborative film "Napoleon" (released in theaters on November 23), director Ridley Scott (85) and lead actor Joaquin Phoenix (49) are not building a cinematic monument. Rather than focusing on the strategic strengths, the film centers on the human weaknesses of the titular character.
Two-front war - that's the focus
Through his equally sophisticated and ruthless approach, Napoleon Bonaparte (Phoenix) quickly rises from a military leader to the French Emperor. However, off the battlefield, the capricious man is interested in only one thing: the beautiful and self-confident Joséphine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby, 35).
With his one true love, who becomes Empress by his side, Napoleon shares a passionate and destructive relationship. Affairs, displays of power, and the increasingly hopeless wait for a male heir—does the strategic genius perhaps wage a futile battle on two fronts?
One man, two roles
With "Joker" (2019), Phoenix paved his way to the Best Actor Oscar as the title character plagued by inferiority complexes. In "Napoleon," he seems to want to repeat this feat, but with a crucial difference: as a comic character, he underwent a transformation from a pitiful yet human figure to a self-confident monster. In "Napoleon," he plays both ends of this spectrum simultaneously.
"I am the first to admit when he makes a mistake. But I just don't make any." With this attitude, Napoleon presents himself in public, convincingly, as success always seems to justify him. It certainly helps that he can discard any scruples to achieve his goals: He quashes a population uprising in its infancy by firing cannons at them without warning or batting an eye.
This diabolical self-confidence is contradicted by Scott whenever he portrays Napoleon in private with Joséphine. Here, the great military commander, chosen by God himself, becomes a whining, Oedipal figure: in his pleas for intimacy, he makes sounds reminiscent of an infant demanding his mother's breast. After a few seconds of awkward copulation, with his beloved staring blankly into space, the tragicomedy is over.
Too much ambition?
The problem: The film itself is presented as hastily as Napoleon with his pants down. It races through history: from the French Revolution—where Marie Antoinette loses her head once again, in a highly graphic manner—to Napoleon's crushing defeat at Waterloo, which serves as the film's finale. The strictly chronological narrative sometimes feels like flipping through a history book in a hurry. Additionally, Scott aims to show not only the battles but also their geopolitical backgrounds and the private life of the main character. However, the roughly two and a half hours of "Napoleon" in theaters are far from sufficient for such detailed exploration.
In this regard, Scott overreaches in a similar way to Christopher Nolan (53) did with "Oppenheimer" in the summer. Both projects have resulted in good films, no doubt. However, both would have benefited from focusing more on less. For comparison, the film "Waterloo" from 1970 (featuring Christopher Plummer and Orson Welles) is almost as long as "Napoleon" and only deals with the titular fiasco of 1815.
But this criticism could soon be addressed, if not in theaters: "Napoleon" is an Apple production that finds its way to cinemas through Sony Pictures. In other words, Napoleon could conquer living rooms via the Apple TV+ streaming service soon and, potentially, in a much more detailed version. Ridley Scott announced in September of this year that he had created a "fantastic" Director's Cut of the film, which is said to be nearly four and a half hours long. It may sound excessive, but an old-school epic requires its (over)length: "Ben Hur" also runs for over 220 minutes...
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