Napoleon

The life of Napoleon Bonaparte is brought to the big screen in the 2023 biopic, which is directed by the legendary Ridley Scott. Josephine, who served as his lover, wife, and Empress, is central to the plot, which also includes his political and physical struggles.

Following the horrific assassination of Marie Antoinette in the film’s opening sequence, the picture moves swiftly in time to the still relatively humble Corsican at the Battle of Toulon, Napoleon’s first major military triumph, and then flashes forward in time again, to his conquest of Josephine, a recent widower and aristocracy, which becomes the main story line of the film. 

Since the release of Gladiator, this is Joaquin Phoenix’s second feature picture collaborating with director Ridley Scott. Phoenix plays the lead role as a fierce, ambitious, and cynical fighter who is utterly besotted with love. The overwhelming passion Napoleon felt for Josephine was the driving force behind his numerous conquests. The main focus of the drama, penned by David Scarpa, is Napoleon’s frustration with his beloved’s infertility. Also crucial to the plot is the fact that Napoleon must make a final, irrevocable decision between his marriage and his love for France. 

The film’s dramatic portrayal of Napoleon and Josephine’s tumultuous relationship takes front stage, with a severe realist style of cinematography, over the few battle scenes that are present. Scott depicts the eighteenth and early nineteenth century France in a decolourised, gloomy and washed-out colour pallet, making the country seem as dark and miserable, as its Emperor at the time, in his pining over his Josephine. 

The artists Scott, Scarpa, and Phoenix fail somewhat in their attempt to create a detailed historical epic that is rich in contrast and variety. In spite of their best efforts, there are still areas when the picture still falls short of being truly exceptional.

-Dirk Lombard Fourie