Napoleon
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An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.
What critics thought
Ridley Scott's epic lands somewhere between spectacle and caricature, with critics broadly admiring the battle sequences and the charged dynamic between Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby while splitting sharply over whether Phoenix's performance is a bold characterization or an indulgent cartoon. French critics were notably harsher than their British and American counterparts, attacking the film as historically sloppy and culturally condescending. The result is a film that impresses in parts but frustrates as a whole portrait of its subject.
“Phoenix is the key to it all: a performance as robust as the glass of burgundy he knocks back: preening, brooding, seething and triumphing.”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“It relies far too often on the "little man, big temper" idea of Napoleon — at times, Phoenix is practically channeling an angry Donald Duck mid-meltdown — and the scenes between the two lovers make them seem more like robots emulating human beings.”
Odie Henderson·Boston Globe
“A man, even a man as combative as Napoleon, amounts to more than the battles he has fought. And it is in this respect that the film is less successful.”
Wendy Ide·The Observer
“it's too bad Scott could not deliver a brilliant character study of one of the world's great military leaders — and instead settled for letting a self-indulgent Phoenix fly over the cuckoo's nest”
Johnny Oleksinski·New York Post
“Ridley Scott's beefy account of Napoleon's rise to power looks great, is served with some panache, but crucially lacks flavour.”
Phil de Semylen·Time Out
Accolades
Parents guide
- Violence
- severe
- Sex
- moderate
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- mild
- Intensity
- severe
Genres
Action, Adventure, Biography
Cast & Crew
Ridley ScottDirector
Joaquin PhoenixNapoleon Bonaparte
Vanessa KirbyJosephine Bonaparte
Tahar RahimPaul Barras
Rupert EverettDuke of Wellington
Mark BonnarJunot
Paul RhysTalleyrand
Ben MilesCaulaincourt
Riana DuceLucille
Edouard PhilipponnatTsar Alexander
Miles JuppEmperor Francis I
Scott HandyMarshal Berthier
Youssef KerkourMarshal Davout
Martin PhippsComposer
David ScarpaWriter
Dariusz WolskiCinematographyNapoleon
An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.
What critics thought
Ridley Scott's epic lands somewhere between spectacle and caricature, with critics broadly admiring the battle sequences and the charged dynamic between Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby while splitting sharply over whether Phoenix's performance is a bold characterization or an indulgent cartoon. French critics were notably harsher than their British and American counterparts, attacking the film as historically sloppy and culturally condescending. The result is a film that impresses in parts but frustrates as a whole portrait of its subject.
“Phoenix is the key to it all: a performance as robust as the glass of burgundy he knocks back: preening, brooding, seething and triumphing.”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“It relies far too often on the "little man, big temper" idea of Napoleon — at times, Phoenix is practically channeling an angry Donald Duck mid-meltdown — and the scenes between the two lovers make them seem more like robots emulating human beings.”
Odie Henderson·Boston Globe
“A man, even a man as combative as Napoleon, amounts to more than the battles he has fought. And it is in this respect that the film is less successful.”
Wendy Ide·The Observer
“it's too bad Scott could not deliver a brilliant character study of one of the world's great military leaders — and instead settled for letting a self-indulgent Phoenix fly over the cuckoo's nest”
Johnny Oleksinski·New York Post
“Ridley Scott's beefy account of Napoleon's rise to power looks great, is served with some panache, but crucially lacks flavour.”
Phil de Semylen·Time Out
Accolades
Parents guide
- Violence
- severe
- Sex
- moderate
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- mild
- Intensity
- severe
Genres
Action, Adventure, Biography
Cast & Crew
Ridley ScottDirectorJoaquin PhoenixNapoleon BonaparteVanessa KirbyJosephine BonaparteTahar RahimPaul BarrasRupert EverettDuke of WellingtonMark BonnarJunotPaul RhysTalleyrandBen MilesCaulaincourtRiana DuceLucilleEdouard PhilipponnatTsar AlexanderMiles JuppEmperor Francis IScott HandyMarshal BerthierYoussef KerkourMarshal DavoutMartin PhippsComposerDavid ScarpaWriterDariusz WolskiCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy