There is no single historical character between the American Revolution and World War II about whom more words have been spilled than Napoleon Bonaparte.
The two-time emperor of the French, genius military commander, and cultural juggernaut has been a figure of fascination, scorn, or respect — depending on your political views. He was a paradox in many ways: conservative yet reformist, protectionist yet expansionist, and strategically patient yet temperamentally mercurial. He was a brilliant leader of men, especially on the battlefield, but could be quite demure in private. He ended the French Revolution, began to restore the church, reinvented the nobility, and, unfortunately, brought slavery back to the French Empire. At the same time, he cemented many of the progressive policies of the Revolution — retaining the emancipation of the Jews, codifying a neutral rule of law, centralizing and growing the state, and retaining national institutions like the levée en masse and the tricolor. He was a man of contradictions.
Ridley Scott’s newest historical film, “Napoleon,” is just as paradoxical as the Great Man himself. It is stunningly beautiful, rich in sound and score, and contains some of the best battle scenes in recent memory. But it also includes some of the worst dialogue in years, makes a hash of history, and dashes so rapidly through time and space that it gives viewers whiplash.
The film is not a biopic of Napoleon, nor is it a film about the Napoleonic Wars or the French Revolution. Instead, it is
