Napoleon

Ridley Scott's latest film, following the underrated The Last Duel and the rated House of Gucci, is a biography of Napoleon Bonaparte (probably no need for the surname). It traces his rise, post Madame Guillotine, through Robespierre's Reign of Terror, to his sweeping victories in battle and finally, to his exile.

All the while, his romance with Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) frames the narrative. It's basically a grand historical rom-com, if you find yourself as tickled by the ripe dialogue as I was. Joaquin Phoenix plays the general with his usual weird panache and his delivery of some of these crackers is top fun. He tells an English foreign minister, "You think you're so good just because you have boats!" And to Josephine he proclaims that, "Destiny has brought me to this lamb chop." 

Phoenix is on his regular top form but Kirby is brilliant as the enigmatic widow who allows herself to be wooed by the little guy. She puts her expressive eyes to good use in the role, especially when she finds herself marginalised for the benefit of the country. The rest of the cast are basically ballast to the leads, though Rupert Everett as Wellington slices the ham like his life depends on it.

Strangely, this is a low-key epic. For all the stylish action sequences (in particular, the icy Battle of Austerlitz is fantastic), this is a really localised film, focussing on the central relationship, with the political wranglings adding to the drama.

Napoleon isn't a dead cert Ridders classic but it's a great lark and the man knows how to direct a big film. Certainly worth a gander.

See also:

Also set in France, but a few hundred years before the Napoleonic era, Scott's The Last Duel (2021) is a fine film. Ian Holm (briefly) played Napoleon in Terry Gilliam's joyously odd Time Bandits (1981).