Napoleon #moviereview

MOVIE REVIEW: Napoleon

TRAILER: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OAZWXUkrjPc

PQ: (pithy quote;-)
“Hats are a great antidote to what’s going on. It’s really their purpose to put a happy face on a sad world.”

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO:
Napoleon’s hat. I love the part it played in the character development of Napoleon. It made him. It shielded him. It framed him. It captured him. It haunted him. It was him.

MOVIE CATNIP: Joaquin Phoenix. He disappears and fully inhabits Napoleon. His performance showcases why he is one of the greatest actors of his generation. Heck, I’d watch Joaquin in a Hanes commercial. His face and body literally morphs throughout his troubled life. You witness him dip into childlike, fearful desperation at the loss of his Josephine.

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE:
The movie has a riveting storyline, it is well written, it has a verismo/thorough composed threatical style, the gore is led by the storyline, the performances are outstanding, the film is expertly crafted set/costumes etc, and the movie is thoughtfully paced. I loved it so much, I saw it 2 nights in a row

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T SEE THIS MOVIE: This is not your grandma’s Napoleon, my little beans. Tread lightly if realism isn’t your bag; your bedside manner can be delicate; historical movies should be a strictly documentary style without any leeway; and you have no interest in seeing a not so long ago practice of beheading at the guillotine from the crowd cheers to post beheading whose beliefs were strong enough to laugh at a decapitated head.

MOVIE TEA: Napoleon is the content of this film and late 18th century is the era, but it could be BC or 2023; it’s SOS human fuckery (even going as far as having their own national enquirer type publications.) Life love Josephine was cast with an actress 14 years younger when in reality the real person was older than Napoleon.

PERRYMAN CIGAR CACKLE MOMENT: Sexy time moments with NB who would have benefitted greatly from telling a therapist about his mother.

MOVIE TAKEAWAYS:
1. Use of the word vermin seems to be timeless across the ages. Can we kindly leave vermin alone?

2. Tide and alliances are always turning.
3. Clever staging of the posture of these historical figures-resembled paintings.
4. Relatable use of laughter and inappropriate sexy time chatter especially at awkward times.
5. Interesting showcase of a secular and transactional marriage.
6. It would seem that Joaquin clearly practiced his walk for this role.
7. Oh did I feel bad for the war time drummer and the bugle player
8. I loved seeing the pets of these epic people and Napoleon’s sweetness with his horse.
9. Life is but a chess game.
10. Corleone sit downs were a thing way before Coppola made the godfathers.
11. It was interesting to watch the theft after conquering-we have all been there.
12. Soundtrack is amazing from the final cadence in the credit.
13. Manners can be overrated.
14. I MUCH prefer nuanced history over taut fairy tales of the past.
15. Sex often not a bed of rose buds and perfectly spun seduction with 2 similarly randy subjects. It’s eccentric horniess in the garish light of day that often doesn’t line up between partners. Debauchery was prevalent like 2013, it just looked different. Heck there were the feudal laws!!
16. That was one lucky choir and conductor who got this movie gig.
17. I can see why Napoleon rose to power. This story is not often told. It is the result of extreme group think.
18. Hanging onto morality ain’t easy.
19. I want to know what happened to Josephine’s kid who asked for his father’s weapon.
20. Great choice with the of lack of color on camera after battle; loved the reading of the letters between Napoleon and Josephine.
21. It is sobering to see what betrayal can do to people.

To me, this movie can be boiled down to 3 things:

1. Our unfulfilled inner voice may drive us to make unfit life decisions.
2. A real time expose of emerging violence and evolving amoral leadership
3. The gravity of our reaction can be a result of our codependency with each other.

ARMREST RATING: 2 Napoleon sized armrest hats raised for him and Josephine for a cinematic tour de force.

From the director: “Joaquin is about as far from conventional as you can get. Not deliberately, but out of intuition. That’s what makes him tick. If something bothers him, he’ll let you know. He made [Napoleon] special by constantly questioning. With Joaquin, we can rewrite the goddamn film because he’s uncomfortable. And that kind of happened with Napoleon. We unpicked the film to help him focus on who Bonaparte was. I had to respect that, because what was being said was incredibly constructive. It made it all grow bigger and better.

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