Comparison:
There’s no regret, no tenderness, no residue of passion grand or otherwise—just the grinding of gears as the film cuts back and forth between Napoleon on the field and Josephine on her deathbed.
Film critic Adam Nayman calls up a semi-ancient (at least back to the 20th century) stealth metaphor with his ‘grinding of gears‘ metaphor; when's the last time you shifted through a gear sequence?
Context:
As the film [Napoleon] goes on, though, Josephine is increasingly meant to be a tragic figure, first thrown over and then exiled in favor of a younger and more fertile model. The melancholy around her situation never quite coalesces, and her scenes are so ridiculously grim that you expect Mel Brooks and the History of the World: Part I gang to burst in and start riffing. There’s no regret, no tenderness, no residue of passion grand or otherwise—just the grinding of gears as the film cuts back and forth between Napoleon on the field and Josephine on her deathbed. Ideally, it’d be hard to tell how Napoleon and Josephine truly feel about each other because they’re both addicted to power gaming. These sections of Napoleon underwhelm, though, because they’re underdeveloped—carefully staged and yet fuzzy around the edges.
Citation:
Nayman, Adam. “Ridley Scott Is Daring You to Watch ‘Napoleon’.” The Ringer, theringer.com, 21 Nov. 2023. Web.
コメント