The Emperor's New Clothes

            Yawn ... it's hard to believe that Napoleon was ever so bland.  This rendition of his character portrays a short man who is authoritative, but basically reasonable.  They got the short man right.  Ian Holm plays both Napoleon and his double, however his performance as the double rings more true than his primary role as Napoleon.  And it's not the first time that Holm has done Napoleon.  He did some scenes as the same short emperor in Time Bandits (1981), which if you haven't seen it, is worth viewing.

            Whether true or not, I imagine Napoleon Bonaparte as an aggressive, bombastic, cruel military leader who was hell-bent for victory, damn the cost.  That Napoleon was not in this movie.  Although the plot was potentially interesting, i.e. Napoleon doesn't die on St. Helena Island in 1821, but escapes, meets a nice lady and lives a long and ultimately pleasant life.  However, except for being a little grumpy, Napoleon has a fairly easy time of it, in other words, very little tension and a bored audience. 

            One conflict does occur in the screenplay between career and home life.  It's a balancing act that most of us can identify with during some phase of our lives and it was interesting to see it played out in a historical scene set 200 years ago.

            In my opinion, this was the wrong role for Holm and it was a sad choice for a veteran who has made in excess of 100 films and who more recently gave a sterling performance in the Lord of the Rings trilogy as Bilbo.  Holm is in his seventies and possibly it is an age for him that is more naturally grumpy than bombastic.

            Reviewed May 22, 2005

            MPAA: Rated PG for brief language.

                                                                                    Copyright 2005 Charles T. Markee