Napoleon (2023)

Director – Ridley Scott; Credited Screenwriter – David Scarpa

Scott and Scarpa weave a tapestry of French history in which tables are regularly turned and accents waver across the known universe. Scarpa’s script is deftly punctuated with a comedic vein of cynicism that theatrically heightens the drama to a dark and twisted farce. Phoenix and Kirby, as Napoleon and his empress-to-be Josephine, ground the picture with compelling and deeply human portrayals amidst a visually scrumptious display of wealth and blood. A longer cut down the line might round out the film and elevate it to an epic but what we have is nothing to sniff at whatsoever. Well worth two-and-a-half hours of your time and more besides.

Even Briefer Please: A confident Yes. History be damned, this is a worthy addition to the modern myth of a tin-pot tyrant.