Well, this epic has been much acclaimed but while impressive in many aspects, I was finally left feeling a little ‘meh’. It is quite an old-fashioned film in some respects with the spectacular grandeur of the (largely non-CGI-generated?) battle scenes but with the modern tang of the very grim physical reality. An early scene of Napoleon’s horse being shot from under him by a cannon ball to the chest was an early indication of this – and the battle on the ice was as stunning and thrilling, as it was terrifying – and, in a weird way, quite beautiful too with the blood spreading through the crystalline water.
Phoenix gives a fascinating portrayal of this remarkable man for whom self-belief is a massive understatement – and at times, this made for some actual humour due to the level of his self-absorption. There were a number of light touches in the script too (pleasantly surprising in a work of this nature) which worked very well.
However, his devotion/infatuation/obsession with Josephine was oddly done and not wholly successfully, I felt. While his feelings made very clear and explicit I found it difficult to see, from the point of view of how Josephine was depicted, what exactly it was that he saw in her. His feelings were constantly and emphatically shown, (and by others around him) but the object of this passion/obsession seemed oddly bland.
The now standard use of anachronistic music in the soundtrack was sparingly, and so effectively used – but of course this does depend on recognizing the music itself which I often am not able to do – but hearing Edith Piaf with the execution of Maria Antoinette was peculiarly effective and affecting.
But was it really necessary to have a post-credits list of the numbers killed in each of the battles depicted? Shock alert: Many people die in wars and major battles. Ya don’t say!!