Cole Rape

This movie was a train wreck. I didn't expect historical accuracy. Frankly I expected to be force fed a dose of Ridley Scott opinion on Napoleon. At least I wasn't disappointed in that regard. Scott clearly despises Napoleon. Scott took every opportunity to make him out to be a very un-self-aware brute. Pretty much as expected. What I was not expecting was the complete disregard of plot, exposition, purpose, and context. From Joaquin Phoenix hanging out at Marie Antoinette's beheading (which didn't happen) to the unexplained and very inaccurate statistics at the end of the movie it seemed like every bit of history was distorted to paint Napoleon in the very worst light. From the very beginning of the movie you assume that Napoleon must be an over-weight asthmatic with a really bad tailor. IRL in his early battles he led from the front and was in good shape. He created a code of laws that are still used today. He re-organized the government of France many of the reforms are still used. He built and improved infrastructure that created massive amounts of trade for France. And the list goes on. Yet if Ridley Scott is to be believed (which he shouldn't) Napoleon was a one-dimensional buffoon. Phoenix's portrayal was decidedly cardboard. Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby, is the only one portrayed with any pathos. However, both main characters were robbed of their impact by a total lack of context and exposition. They were thrown into each scene with the audience having no idea how we'd gotten there. I doubt I'd watch this again even if it was free.