Napoleon (2023)

Napoleon is perhaps one of the last films of the year that could be my favourite film of the year. Having being at the cinema multiple times this year means I have seen the trailer for this film more times than I have seen any trailer.

The story tells of Napoleon Bonaparte and his rise and inevitable fall. Joaquin Phoenix (winner of Best Actor in the 2019 Movie Addict Awards) plays Napoleon and plays Napoleon as an arrogant but at times flawed person and he never seems to get to the stage of narcissist but does comes across as opinionated. I thought that Vanessa Kirby was really good as Josephine, its a tough role to play and yet she played it as if she was Napleon's equal even though it probably was as 

A lot of people have made a noise about this film lacking in historical accuracy. Here's the thing.....I dont care. If I wanted a more accurate version of Napoleon's life then there are probably 100's of documentaries on various streaming services to satisfying me. I want something more from a cinema experience and want something more for my £12. 

The battle scenes are the best thing about the movie and they are quite tough at times especially the first where a horse gets shot at with a cannonball was particularly tough but if there is one thing that Ridley Scott can do well then its action scenes and they are all really good to watch.

Does the film tell the story about Napoleon in a way that is close to what he was like in real life? No, Does the film do a good job of entertaining and giving a good idea of what he was like? Yes. I think the Napoleon in this film is probably a fair representation of what the man was really like. I think if people go into the film not expecting a historical documentary then they will like it a lot more.

By the way, whilst the film is very good it doesn't quite take top spot but it is a worthy runner up. This is one of Ridley Scott's better films which takes a so so screenplay and elevate it to something worth watching because of the casting.

Saltburn (2023)

Having being a fan of Promising Young Woman, I was keen to see what Emerald Fennell would come up with next. The story is that we follow Oliver Quick as he becomes friends with Felix and there is a world collide type plot going on. It's a case of the haves and the have nots and the have's taking pity on the have nots and trying to make themselves feel good about it.

There are a couple of times in the movie that I found myself being slightly uncomfortable (which is probably the point), the first is when after Felix......enjoys himself in the bath, Oliver then decides to drink the bathwater and seems to lick the plughole which was the first time that I was worried that the film was going to go into territory which would ruin my enjoyment of this movie. The second time came when after Felix dies and is buried, Oliver strips naked and goes on top of the grave. From a visual point of view its well shot but did make me wonder if the film was going to tip over into tasteless but mercifully it didnt....just.

I got a Parasite vibe watching this movie and I mean that as a compliment and whilst that film does it better this I thought that it invokes that film in a way that works and made me like this film more. Barry Keoghan was really good as Oliver and when the truth comes out about him, I still found myself liking the character. The moment when its revealed that Oliver's family are alive and well and not as bad as had been portrayed was a big moment in the film and that's when the film starts to change and go in a different direction. When we see how Oliver has manipulated events to get into the position he is now in, I still find myself liking Oliver but I suspect htat not everybody feels the same.

I thought that Jacob Elordi played the entitled Felix with a likeability that makes his downfall more impactful than it could have been. Richard E. Grant was the only person that I felt really sad about the fate of their character, Sir James was the closest to being a normal person and when he tries to buy off Oliver you want him to be able to get rid of the leech because he has lost so much in a short period of time.

I think that this film is better than Promising Young Woman but it shows Fennell growing as a film maker and I look forward to what she comes up with in the future. It takes what on the face of it would be totally unlikeable character and makes them likeable enough to care about and Barry Keoghan shows that his performance in the Banshees of Inisherin wasn't a fluke.