Academy Award-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix reunited with Gladiator director Ridley Scott for a biographical drama film about the life and times of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. While the film was poised to showcase the dramatic rise and fall of one of history’s greatest military commanders, Napoleon failed to capture the hearts of viewers or leave a lasting impression.
Furthermore, the film was slammed for its historical inaccuracies and mistreatment of the source material. The latest round of bashing for the film’s incompetency in depicting the life of Napoleon Bonaparte comes from Louis Sarkozy, son of the former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy did not mince his words while criticising the Joaquin Phoenix-led film, and here is what he had to say.
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Ex-French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s Son Bashes Joaquin Phoenix’s Napoleon
Louis Sarkozy is the 26-year-old son of ex-French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The younger Sarkozy is also an avid history buff and a self-professed fan of Napoleon Bonaparte. He wrote a book titled Napoleon’s Library, exploring Napoleon’s literary interests and their influence on French history. Therefore, Sarkozy seems like an ideal candidate to properly judge Ridley Scott’s biopic.
However, in a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Sarkozy did not hide his criticism of Scott’s Napoleon starring Joaquin Phoenix. During the interview, Sarkozy called the film an absolute catastrophe.
According to Sarkozy, Scott “has captured neither the man nor the era in this film.” Sarkozy continued explaining his disappointment with the film:
“If I were not such a Napoleonic fan or an avid reader of the period … it would’ve just been a bad movie. But since my expectations were so great, and I’m also a huge fan of Ridley Scott and his prior productions, and also a big fan of Joaquin Phoenix. … It’s a catastrophe because it’s a bad movie.”
As a result, Sarkozy did not like Scott’s take on Napoleon Bonaparte’s life. However, unlike reactions from most historians, Sarkozy’s criticism of the film did not stem from the historical inaccuracies. Instead, Sarkozy acknowledged that filmmakers taking artistic licenses is necessary when tackling historical subjects.
Sarkozy Criticized Napoleon For Poor Techincal Prowess While Ignoring Historical Inaccuracies
In December 2023, Sarkozy wrote an opinion piece for The Messenger, where he openly criticized the film. In the piece, Sarkozy revealed his admiration for Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix. However, he opined that their work on Napoleon was shallow and tepid. Sarkozy explained that while the movie is filled with historical inaccuracies, he does not have an issue with them. Instead, Sarkozy felt the film was poorly executed, especially in the acting department.
Also Read: Ridley Scott Admits He Didn’t Read Napoleon’s Real History as Movie Gets Mauled by Historians
Similarly, in the aforementioned interview, Sarkozy criticized the film’s character work and dialogs.
“I thought it was a bad movie because it was a bad movie. I thought the dialogues were very poorly written, not at all engaging.”
Furthermore, Sarkozy also criticized the film’s costumes, color grading, and battle sequences. As a result, it is safe to say that Sarkozy was utterly disappointed with Ridley Scott’s effort to explore Napoleon Bonaparte’s life through film. The director has previously defended the film and dismissed criticism of its historical inaccuracies with fruity language. Despite the mostly negative reception in France, Napoleon grossed $213 million at the global box office.
Napoleon is available to stream on AppleTV+.
