Napoleon

Well, it certainly isn't Alien, Blade Runner, or Gladiator, three of Ridley Scott's best films.  Glad I saw it, but very strange.  I can't figure out what Scott was thinking, other than he really doesn't like Napoleon.  Some interesting and well-shot scenes but definitely not an actors movie.  The only outstanding performance is by Vanessa Kirby, as Josephine, Napoleon's love obsession.

The film has several historical whoppers - Napoleon didn't destroy the tops of the pyramids with cannon fire and didn't lead cavalry charges, but I can live with that.  The big problem is Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon.  He's terrible.  Whether he was miscast, told to play it that way by Scott, or just hampered by the weak script, it's just a weird performance.

I could get past the age factor; Phoenix is 48 while much of the action in the film occurs when Napoleon was in his twenties or early 30s, and six years younger than the more sophisticated Josephine.  Napoleon Bonaparte was dynamic, tireless, charismatic, charming, highly intelligent, and a good conversationalist.  The Duke of Wellington said his presence on the battlefield was worth 40,000 men.  And his interests were not limited to war, his reforms of France's administrative, legal, and educational systems remaining largely intact in the 21st century.  A complex character with a controversial legacy.  None of that comes through in Phoenix's performance.  His Napoleon is a taciturn dullard.  We are left wondering why anyone would follow him; why he ascended so quickly to power.  

After Waterloo, Napoleon sought refuge on the British ship HMS Bellerophon.  The British turned down Napoleon's request to be allowed to settle in their country, one of their concerns being that his ability to charm would make him widely popular with the public, as demonstrated by how, within a few days, he charmed the crew of Bellerophon, including the young midshipmen.  In the movie we see one of Wellington's subordinates warning him that Napoleon is enchanting the midshipmen, but the scene doesn't really show him doing it.  Exposition carries the day, when it would have been much more effective to see Napoleon's personality at work.

Interesting to see, but overall, a miss.