Monsieur N
Picture: C
Sound: B- Extras: B- Film: B-
Despite feature film financial disappointments like Waterloo
(1971) and endless attempts to capture who Napoleon Bonaparte really was, all
seem to fall flat. Too bad Stanley
Kubrick did not get to finish his film in the early 1970s, as we may have a
definitive film on the man. The latest
attempt to explore Napoleon’s legend is Antoine De Caunes’ Monsieur N, a
2002 feature that begins with his burial, then backtracks for its 127-minutes
length.
It is not perfect, but it is better than recent
mini-series attempts to capture his character and Philippe Torreton is just
good enough as the title character as not to be distracting or bad. He is not perfect in the role either, but
this matches the mixed nature of the film.
What prevents it from falling prey to being another failed production on
Napoleon is that it takes itself seriously, as does the screenplay by René
Manzor. Though far from a masterwork, Monsieur
N is a step in the right direction in dealing with its subject matter
properly and that is most welcome.
Focusing on the final years is not cheating, either.
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 scope image is
surprisingly soft, color poor and dull.
Cinematographer Pierre Aim, A.F.C., had also shot Café Au Lait
(2003, reviewed elsewhere on this site) and knew how to use a narrower
frame. The use of scope here is not as
effective, though this transfer is distracting. If anything, the shooting oddly reminded me for whatever reason
of David Lean’s Dr. Zhivago. The
film was issued in DTS and Dolby 5.1, but all we get here is Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds. That
is a shame, because this does sound well recorded, using both English and
French languages, an interesting approach.
Stephan Eicher’s score is fairly good too. Extras include five trailers (including one for this film) of
Empire Pictures titles, a stills gallery, brief text on Napoleon, and separate
text interviews with the star and director.
- Nicholas Sheffo
