Why 'Napoleon' is receiving heavy criticism from French film critics
Ridley Scott's Napoleon—based on the life of the French military commander/emperor Napoleon Bonaparte—has become the latest film to divide critics and audiences. Particularly in France, it opened to several acerbic reviews, with critics not buying Joaquin Phoenix's act as the titular character. Despite that, however, the project grossed about $9,46,000 on its opening day (Wednesday). What do the French think of Napoleon? Find out.
'Napoleon' was termed 'idiotic' by 'GQ France'
GQ France opined, "Napoleon appears impulsive, sometimes idiotic (his belligerent attitude with the other emperors), before a battle comes to glorify his instincts as a brilliant strategist." "It is the whole contradiction to want to play with the Napoleon myth, even if it means giving him the air of an immature child disguised in a soldier's costume while maintaining reflexes that [are] conservative."
Here's how other reviews tore into the drama
Le Firago agreed with GQ France and said that the film should have instead been titled "Barbie and Ken Under the Empire." Radio station France Culture also didn't mince its words and compared Phoenix's look to a "dusty wax figure." Not just that, the film has also been torn apart on French TV for its alleged historical inaccuracies and loopholes.
Here's what Scott had to say to the French critics
However, Scott is unconcerned by the polarizing reviews and completely negated them. In a recent interview with BBC, he had a scathing response ready, "The French don't even like themselves. The audience that I showed it to in Paris, they loved it." Napoleon marks the second collaboration between Phoenix and Scott after Gladiator and it hit Indian theaters on Friday.
More about the film and its cast ensemble
In addition to Phoenix, the film also stars Vanessa Kirby, Ben Miles, Catherine Walker, and David Tucci, among others. Kirby is playing Napoleon's wife Joséphine de Beauharnais. It has been written by David Scarpa, known for The Man in the High Castle and The Last Castle. Scott has separately called Bonaparte "extraordinary" while comparing him to Alexander the Great, Adolf Hitler, and Joseph Stalin.
