Napoleon Movie Review: Ridley Scott’s film about the French general tackles some of the most pressing debates of our time.movie review news

The anxiety that the “Corsican thug” who rises to become Emperor of France seems to wear like a second skin is due to another great performance from Joaquin Phoenix. And much of it has to do with his relationship with his beloved Josephine, played to equally impressive effect by Vanessa Kirby. Their story is a timeless tale of love, and so is Phoenix and Kirby’s tumultuous union here, as Phoenix and Kirby love her more than ever and she rises to a higher social status. juxtaposed with the lingering tension between them that she has (even though she is extremely poor). widowhood), always has a slightly condescending attitude about his thirst for more.

But their relationship is just a side dish to the main course here. A series of battles that propel Napoelon from being a lowly Corsican soldier considered an outsider to becoming one of the world’s greatest generals. Seen, and the emperor. These are brutal, harsh wars, with hand-to-hand combat taking place on desolate battlefields, and as the film opens with Marie Antoinette being guillotined, vegetables are thrown at her head, and her eyes clinging to the haunting blonde. Even a close shot of the head is filmed. Hair – See up close how mortar shells affect people and horses.

Particularly gruesome are the wars fought over the frozen winter lands of Russia, which mix blood and snow and precipitate the beginning of Napoleon’s downfall.

Deciding what to leave out of a biopic is never easy, but here Scott explores so many areas, from the first Battle of Toulon to Napoleon’s historic conquest of Egypt to a battle of wits with various royalties. covers. He was too eager to defeat the ambitious upstarts from France, let alone the Battle of Waterloo.

Napoleon continued to send longing letters to Josephine, pouring out his heart and hoping to hear the same from her – even after she was given no heir and had to divorce her. .

Rupert Everett is also an inspired choice to play the Duke of Wellington in the Battle of Waterloo. The battle itself is even more awkward, as it is a decisive clash that punctures Napoleon’s reputation as a master tactician.

At 160 minutes, Napoleon packs in far too much, even if much of it is good. Director Scott is apparently preparing to release a longer version, nearly four hours long (Napoleon is an Apple Original Movie) at a later date. Perhaps that would do more justice to the man who changed the history of France and Europe in more ways than just war. It is to give a formal system of law and finance.

But when the credits roll at the end with a list of the number of dead from his 61 battles, some wonder if we’ll ever get that side of Napoleon. Perhaps the film is, after all, influenced by today’s politics, where there is little room for gray.

When asked if Rajkumar Hirani helped her organize the show inside the prison, she said: “We were planning a welfare show like ‘Umang’ and for that, yes, he contacted me…the show was good but we couldn’t go ahead with it.”

napoleon
director – Ridley Scott
cast – Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim
evaluation – 3.5/5