I Didn't Like 'Napoleon,' But I Loved This Performance (2024)

Out of all the films that were released last year, few were as disappointing as Napoleon, which not even the skills of director Ridley Scott could salvage. There was one bright spot in the film, however, in the form of Vanessa Kirby, whose role as Empress Josephine is actually more interesting than her famous husband. Although her age does not match the Empress and serves as one of many inaccuracies within the film, Kirby herself more than makes up for this by giving a subtle performance as a noblewoman who loses her political, romantic, and physical standing over twenty years. Idolized by her husband even as he grows beyond "needing her," Vanessa Kirby perfectly captures a woman who is both powerful and powerless — larger than life to the man who claims her, but rendered small by those very same illusions.

Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon' Was a Bold Swing and a Miss

As a history buff, I was very excited about Napoleon after watching the first trailer, but I always had concerns about the pacing and the characters. After all, nearly twenty years of history would have to be covered in just two to three hours — a tall order even with the extended edition helping to expand different elements. Given the high caliber of its two leads, one thing I had no fears about were the performances. Before watching, I was sure that, if nothing else, the acting involved would be superb, but I was only half right. Despite his relatively recent Oscar win and reuniting with Scott over twenty years after the director brought him to fame in Gladiator with a very similar role, Joaquin Phoenix proved unlikable and neurotic as the Emperor of France. While this might have been intentional, and it was certainly bold to deconstruct him as a leader and husband, the film instead overcorrected. Rather than a deeply flawed but still admirable wartime leader, it was difficult to believe this was a man worth following.

In real life, Kirby is about the same age as Josephine at the time she married Napoleon in 1796, and she portrays the Empress with the maturity of an older woman. Even as the long stretches of time passed, and her age became more of a political problem in the film itself, it can be easy to forget that Kirby is so much younger than her main costar, thanks to the underrated but impeccable work of the hair and makeup team. What makes this so unfortunate, then, is that we do not get to spend nearly as much time with her as we should have; the film is so busy cutting between many battle scenes that the relationship between Napoleon and Josephine takes a back seat. When she does appear, however, Kirby captures the screen just as much as the Empress grabbed the attention of her own husband.

Vanessa Kirby's Performance as Josephine Is 'Napoleon's Saving Grace

Kirby's previous work on The Crown showed that she was still more than capable of playing a charismatic royal, and she truly did not disappoint. Her physical aging might be difficult to notice, but the actress made a great effort to portray both her emotional and political decline as Napoleon rises into legendary status. When we first see her, the future Empress has an angelic aura to her that Kirby captures with almost no effort, and I instantly understood why a man as ambitious as Napoleon would have been as infatuated with her as he actually was. At the same time, while she can be quite playful and seductive, Kirby also shows the vulnerability of the Empress during her later scenes with Phoenix. Perhaps the best example is when their divorce is finalized due to her infertility, where Kirby embodies both the heartbreak and humiliation of a woman now seen as powerless in her marriage and her court. Another more subtle example is when she holds the infant son of Napoleon by his second wife, and the look upon her face is a potent blend of endearment and jealously, all quietly captured without dialogue.

While their scenes together are few, the unbalanced relationship between Napoleon and Josephine does much to show how deeply she affected him throughout his life. Rather than just a glittering object for his approval, Kirby uses her performance to humanize the Empress, reminding the audience that this was a real person who the Emperor had sidelined, however reluctantly. As the film dragged on, I felt their bond was the only thing that kept the film worth watching, so the loss of Josephine during his first exile ironically made me feel just as empty as Napoleon himself did, albeit not in the way the film intended. Perhaps it's fitting that the final scene is Napoleon imagining Josephine as he dies, as the illusion Kirby had created provided both the film and its titular historical figure with a dramatic intensity that could never be regained once it had vanished.

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Napoleon

R

Biopic

Drama

Release Date

November 22, 2023

Director

Ridley Scott

Cast

Joaquin Phoenix , Vanessa Kirby , Ben Miles , Ludivine Sagnier

Runtime

158 Minutes

Writers

David Scarpa

Main Genre

Biopic

Napoleon is available to watch on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

Watch on Apple TV+