NAPOLEON : Tuesday 28th November 2023

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'NAPOLEON' this week at my local multiplex, and this US and UK Co-Production is an epic historical drama film Co-Produced and Directed by Ridley Scott, who I'm sure need no introduction, suffice to say he has helmed numerous critically acclaimed films over the years including his debut in 1977 with 'The Duellists' followed by the likes of 'Alien', 'Blade Runner', 'Thelma & Louise', 'Gladiator', 'Black Hawk Down', 'American Gangster', 'Prometheus', 'The Martian', 'The Last Duel' and 'The House of Gucci' most recently. This film had its World Premiere screening in Paris on 14th November, was released in the US, the UK and here in Australia last week before streaming on Apple TV+ at a later date, cost somewhere in the region of US$150M to produce and has so far recouped US$84M in Box Office receipts and has garnered mixed reviews.

On 16th October 1793, amid the French Revolution, young army officer Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix) watches Queen Marie Antoinette (Catherine Walker) being beheaded by the guillotine for depletion of the national treasury, conspiracy against the internal and external security of the State, and high treason. Later that year, Revolutionary leader Paul Barras (Tahar Rahim) has Napoleon orchestrate the Siege of Toulon whereby he successfully storms the city undercover of darkness and destroys the British ships anchored in the harbour with artillery. After Maximilien Robespierre (Sam Troughton) is deposed and executed at the end of the Reign of Terror, French leaders, including Napoleon, strive to restore some semblance of stability. Again employing artillery, Napoleon quashes the royalist insurrection on 5th October in 1795 in Paris. 

Napoleon actively courts aristocratic widow Josephine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby) and the two marry on 9th March 1796. Despite their very active sex life, they bear no children much to Napoleon's ongoing disappointment as he is intent on having a son and heir. In Egypt, he prevails again at the Battle of the Pyramids in 1798, but rushes home when he hears Josephine has had an affair with another man. The Directory criticises him for abandoning his troops, but he condemns them for their poor leadership of France and, as part of a trio, overthrows them in a coup on 9th November 1799, and becomes First Consul.

Napoleon is crowned Emperor of the French by the Pope on 2nd December 1804 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, during which he audaciously places the crown on his own head. Foreign Minister Talleyrand (Paul Rhys) suggests to Austria an alliance, though the Austrians dismiss the idea. A year later, Napoleon out manoeuvres and defeats the Austrians and Russians at the Battle of Austerlitz on 2nd December 1805, forcing them to retreat over a huge frozen lake before bombarding the ice with cannons and drowning them in the icy waters below. Afterwards, he invites Austrian Emperor Francis II for wine, which Russian Tsar Alexander I (Edouard Philipponnat) declines to attend, and tells Francis that since he did not totally destroy their armies, he expects the latter to be grateful. 

Letizia Bonaparte (Sinead Cusack), Napoleon's mother, hatches a plan to determine whether her son, or Josephine, is incapable of producing a child. She has him impregnate an eighteen year old mistress, proving that Josephine is infertile. At an intimate dinner with a handful of friends on 30th November 1809, he let Josephine know that, in the interest of France, he must find a wife who could produce an heir. Josephine agreed to the divorce so the Emperor could remarry in the hope of having an heir. The divorce ceremony took place on 10th January 1810 and was a grand but solemn social occasion, and each read a statement of devotion to the other, but not before he publicly slapped her in the face when she initially refused to read her portion of the decree. However, the two remain on good terms and continue writing letters to each other. Napoleon marries Marie Louise of Austria (Anna Mawn) in a formal ceremony in April of 1810, who bears him a son one year later.

In 1812, Napoleon invades Russia after Alexander back tracks on a peace treaty with France. He prevails, despite fierce resistance by Cossack guerrillas, at the Battle of Borodino, but finds Moscow empty and later set aflame. Napoleon retreats during the harsh winter to France, having lost about half a million men. In 1814, the Coalition force Napoleon's abdication and exile him to the Mediterranean island of Elba, arriving on 4th May. He was allowed to keep a personal guard of four hundred men and was nominally appointed sovereign of the island. After staying for almost ten months, he escaped back to France having commandeered a ship on 26th February 1815 having heard that Josephine was unwell. 

Josephine, having been forced into a reclusive life at her former family home near Paris died of pneumonia before he arrives. King Louis XVIII (Ian McNeice) sends the Fifth Regiment to prevent Napoleon from advancing, but he charms them into joining him. Napoleon returns to power in March of 1815 and at the Battle of Waterloo on 18th June, Napoleon, having amassed 125,000 troops, confronts the British army under Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington (Rupert Everett). French cavalry charges are thwarted by British infantry squares, and a desperate Napoleon commands his remaining soldiers and officers forward, but this advance is decimated by re-formed lines of enemy infantry. The forces of Prussian Marshal Blucher arrive to bring support to Wellington, and the French are overwhelmingly defeated. As Napoleon retreats, he salutes Wellington. 

Napoleon is exiled for a second and final time to the island of Saint Helena, a remote volcanic tropical island about 1,200 miles west of the coast of south-western Africa in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where he arrives in October 1815. He is seen bantering with a pair of young girls, and writing his memoirs that would become a worldwide best-seller. He died there on 5th May 1821, with his final words being 'France - Army - Josephine'. An epilogue notes that roughly three million soldiers died fighting his wars.

Despite the historical inaccuracies reported on, or the fact the this film fails to elaborate on much of the good that Napoleon brought to the French nation during his reign as Emperor, or his political or strategic machinations, one cannot deny that Director Ridley Scott knows how to stage large scale battle scenes and his penchant for never letting the truth get in the way of a good story! Instead we have a storyline that concentrates almost exclusively on Napoleon's often tumultuous relationship with his first wife Josephine and five key battles out of the eighty os so fought during his lifetime. Scott also has a keen eye for the detail and this is reflected in the production values which are top rate, and in casting Vanessa Kirby as Josephine he hit pay dirt, but not so much with Joaquin Phoenix portrayal of Napoleon who scowls, throws temper tantrums and at age almost fifty is some 20+ years older than the character he is playing seems just a tad miscast here. This is certainly not Ridley Scott's finest production, but it is worth a viewing on a big screen if for nothing else the spectacle of the battle sequences. 

'Napoleon' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

SALTBURN : Tuesday 21st November 2023

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'SALTBURN' at my local independent movie theatre this week, and this psychological thriller drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Emerald Fennell in her second feature film outing following the highly acclaimed 'Promising Young Woman' in 2020 which reaped 116 award wins and another 193 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. This film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Telluride Film Festival in late August and was released in the US, the UK and here in Australia last week having so far generated mostly favourable reviews and grossed US$1.7M at the Box Office. 

The films open up in 2006 with a collar, tie and blazer wearing Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) walking across the quad at Oxford University and into his ground floor dormitory as a first year freshman. He is looked upon with some disdain by many of the other jeans and T-shirt wearing students, some of which mildly abuse his attire. On his first night over dinner in the packed refectory he struggles to find a place to sit, and ends up opposite another equally displaced student Michael Gavey (Ewan Mitchell) who introduces himself as another 'Nigel Nofriends'. Oliver observes Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), a charming, handsome, popular and clearly very well off student, who is attending Oxford with his American cousin, Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe), and who happens to be attending the same college. 

One day just before the summer break of 2007 Oliver lends Felix his bicycle so Felix can attend a class to which he is already running ten minutes late, as Felix's own bicycle has a punctured wheel. Felix is extremely grateful. As a result of this gesture, the two become fast friends and is invited into Felix's and Farleigh's inner circle of friends, which sees Oliver turn his back on Michael. Oliver becomes increasingly obsessed with Felix. Oliver tells Felix he is an only child with an alcoholic mother and a drug dependent father, and grew up in Prescot, near Liverpool. One day he announces that his father has suddenly died. Oliver's story garners Felix's sympathy, and so he invites Oliver to spend the summer with him and Farleigh at Saltburn, his wealthy family's sprawling estate in the country. Oliver accepts, albeit reluctantly at first.

Oliver arrives at Saltburn where he is greeted by the Butler of the house, Duncan (Paul Rhys), and after a whistle stop tour of the household Felix introduces him to his father, Sir James (Richard E. Grant), his mother, Lady Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), and his sister, Venetia (Alison Oliver). Also at Saltburn is 'Poor Dear' Pamela (Carey Mulligan), Elspeth's friend, whom the family believes has now outstayed her welcome and actively encourage her to leave when she reveals that she has rented a new flat. Despite the family's initial eccentricities and over indulgent living standards, Oliver clearly relishes his time at Saltburn. Oliver begins lying to curry favour with the family so they can grow even more fond of him, firstly implying to Elspeth that Pamela made up her bizarre, tragic stories for the attention it brought her. Later in the summer, the family learns that Pamela has died, though Elspeth in nonplussed by the news.

Late one evening Oliver secretly watches Felix masterbating while taking a bath in their shared bathroom to which their bedrooms both adjoin. After Felix has brushed his teeth and bid his friend goodnight, Oliver drinks the last of the draining water from the bathtub and licks the plughole clean. Another night, he sees Venetia outside his bedroom window wearing a see through night gown. He performs oral sex on Venetia despite it being her time of the month to which Oliver retorts that its just as well he's a vampire. Farleigh observes this from his bedroom window overlooking the gardens. Farleigh tells Felix who is upset with Oliver, since a former friend of Felix's had also slept with Venetia last summer. Oliver convinces him that Farleigh was lying and that he was only comforting the moody Venetia, who he claims is interested in him. Later, Oliver overhears an argument between Felix and Farleigh over the latter milking Sir James' for financial support for his university studies. On another occasion during a party with a karaoke machine, Farleigh retaliates by tricking Oliver into performing the Pet Shop Boys song 'Rent' (whose lyrics mirror Oliver's current situation at Saltburn) to everyone. Later that night, Oliver threatens Farleigh and initiates a sexual encounter. The next morning, Farleigh is asked to leave Saltburn when he is said to have attempted to sell rare ceramic antique plates from Sir James' collection to Sotheby's. 

With Oliver's birthday approaching Elspeth and Sir James plan a fancy dress party for two hundred or so guests to celebrate. On the morning of his birthday Felix surprises Oliver with a road trip. Upon nearing their destination Oliver panics when Felix tells him that they are going to see his mother in Prescot in an attempt to mend their fractured relationship. However, it is revealed that Oliver's family lives in the upper-middle-class suburbs, his father is alive and very well, both his parents are kind and not substance abusers, and he is not an only child and in fact has two sisters. Felix is mortified by Oliver's deception, telling him to leave after the party that evening, while Oliver states that he only lied so Felix would be his friend. That evening, the party commences at Saltburn with numerous guests in attendance, including Farleigh, who threatens Oliver. Inside Saltburn's maze, Oliver attempts to reconcile with Felix, but Felix outright rejects him. The next morning, Felix is found dead in the maze.

Oliver and the Catton family mourn Felix's death, but Elspeth and Sir James try to put a brave face on the matter. Sir James cuts Farleigh off from his financial support, saying that he will not inform the Police but that is the last thing he will do for him, and forces him to leave Saltburn for good when Oliver suggests that Farleigh doing lines of coke at the party last night contributed to Felix's death. After Felix's funeral, Oliver privately breaks down as he strips down and penetrates Felix's newly dug gravesite in the driving rain. When Elspeth demands Oliver stay at Saltburn, Venetia later confronts him when Oliver barges in on her while she is taking a bath. It dawns on her that he has successfully latched himself onto her family and that Felix's death was a result. Venetia is found dead the following morning having apparently slashed her wrists in the bathtub, leaving Elspeth and Sir James in further despair. Fearing that Elspeth is growing too attached to him and becoming suspicious of his insistence on staying, Sir James opens his cheque book and asks Oliver how much does he want to leave Saltburn. Oliver responds that he can't leave Elspeth while she needs him most, but Sir James is insistent, and Oliver leaves having agreed a price. 

A number of years later and Oliver reads about the recent death of Sir James in the newspaper. Sometime shortly afterwards and Oliver is sat in a cafe typing away at his laptop when Elspeth walks in to buy a takeaway coffee. They are both surprised to see each other and Elspeth comments to Oliver how grown up he is and how pleasing it is to see him again. Oliver gives his condolences to Elspeth over the passing of her husband to which she responds that he never really recovered following the death of Felix and Venetia. She urges him to return with her her to Saltburn. 

Soon afterwards and Elspeth becomes fatally ill. On her deathbed, looking very proud of himself, Oliver reveals that he was responsible for all the tragic events that have fallen upon Saltburn having orchestrated his initial meeting with Felix, Oliver then murdered him by poisoning the bottle of Champagne that he drank from that night in the maze. He also subtly manipulated Venetia into killing herself by placing razor blades on the side of her bath, and sent the email that resulted in Farleigh's fast exit from Saltburn. Finally, he planned his encounter with Elspeth in the cafe, with flashbacks revealing that she subsequently left all of her financial assets to Oliver, including ownership of Saltburn. Oliver then kills Elspeth by forcefully removing her life support tube. Having now taken over the Saltburn estate and the Catton fortune and seemingly dismissed the Butler, maids and footmen, Oliver dances naked around the house to 'Murder on the Dancefloor' by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. 

'Saltburn' is a slow-burn thriller about those born with not one but two silver spoons firmly planted in their mouths, and those hangers-on who aspire to such dizzy heights and those even fewer who make it - by fair means or in this case by foul. Writer and Director Emerald Fennell has here delivered us a film of modern day British aristocracy that is conflicted by the out-of-touch staid and overly quirky mannerisms of the parents versus the next generation keen to mark its place in the world, and on that note Richard E. Grant, Rosamund Pike, Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan are all expertly cast in their roles of old school versus new school. The very black and often bleak humour is rendered with a deft touch that if you blink you'll surly miss some of the zingers that come hurtling by. Barry Keoghan gives a fearless performance in every respect from the mild mannered unassuming student we first meet at Oxford University to the cold calculating murderer we see at the end who relishes in his ill gotten gains - one for the ages for sure. 

'Saltburn' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-