Very frustrating movie, fascinating for its total failure to build or maintain tension. The inept tone-management blunts its provocations and sucks the life out its visual flourishes (which despite the evident effort, are mostly forgettable and derivative), resulting in an extremely shallow film.
The trouble starts with Oliver, who Fennel never has a handle on. She's so preoccupied with hiding the "twist" that she robs him of all menace, except when he is doing his demon dom act (which goes…
Some scattered thoughts:
-Joaquin Phoenix needs to do some comedies. He's very funny in this! He's always been a great physical actor, and can turn on the charm when he feels like it.
-Just before going into his first battle at Toulon, Napoleon says "come on Brave Boy" and it's unclear whether he's talking to himself or the horse
-So much of this movie is about Josephine being horny and Napoleon not being able to help her out. Movie makes…
I really hate this movie. Trainspotting but without any of the levity or deep character work.
Starting with a few negative points: Very little emotional core here, and it’s when Eggers goes for sentimentality and warmth that he seems most lost in the fundamentally alien world he’s created. How does a pagan warrior process the trauma of having his life destroyed 20 years earlier? How does he fall in love? The answers provided here are disappointingly conventional and undercooked. It’s not that I went into the Northman to be moved, but I can’t think of anything…
