Napoleon

 

This is a curious film. 

My impression is that there were several films mashed together here. The private life of Napoleon and Josephine. A battle of Waterloo film, and a Napoleon biopic 

Sony had the money for all three, or selected bits it liked-It looks beautiful in that cold and sparse way modern movies do. 

1 Phoenix sounds like the Joker. Particularly when he whines. Bonaparte also uses an Americanism write me in the script. Which sticks out 

2. They don't investigate the idea that Josephine was a dark influence on Napoleon. The film establishes Josephine's origins in the West Indies. We see that Josephine has a mixed raced servant-lady in waiting. The filmmakers don't pay heed to the belief she ( Josephine ) had a negative view of people of colour. Which influenced Napoleon's behavior in the East - His cruel treatment of Muslim prisoners after the siege of Acre comes to mind 

3. Lots of British old hands- Julian Tutt, Louis McNiece. etc Which is nice, but can't they do something about the accents? As I type this there is a video circulation that demonstrates A.I  can dub  President Millei into his native Argentine accent 

4. Phoenix is too old. When Tsar Alexander the 2nd says his sister is only 16. The viewer's reaction is going to be different. A histrionic young Napoleon driven mad by lust, and ambition can be forgiven his outbursts- Phoenix can not. The film could have made Napoleon into a aged tyrant. It did not

I liked the final scene with Napoleon surrounded by awestruck Midshipmen.  Who were watching him eat, and taking in his every word We could have had Napoleon the bringer of the strong arm of the Enlightenment , the Svengali. We did not.

All that money. All these greats actors. I am not sure what they were doing