Monsieur N film review

certificate_12A

MONSIEUR N

Perhaps the most surprising thing about Monsieur N, an interesting if flawed look at Napoleon's life in exile on St. Helena, is its director. Antoine de Caunes is better known over here for decidedly lowbrow fare, as the fast-talking and cheeky host of both Rapido and Eurotrash on television in the 1990s. Now De Caunes has changed career and with his promising new film looks set to have made a good decision.

Filmmakers have always been fascinated by Napoleon's exploits, both as European commander and his notorious exile and controversial death. Kubrick allegedly spent the last quarter of his life working on a Napoleon project, while scores of film and television projects have been made about his legend.

De Caunes ignores Napoleon's battle years and concentrates instead on his life in exile on St Helena under the somewhat hostile command of the British, represented by the self-important and desperately ruthless Hudson Lowe (Richard E Grant). Napoleon (Philippe Torreton) spends his days on an isolated farm, surrounded by the few servants he is allowed to keep, as well as their wives who are keen to oblige his every whim. While much of this is depicted in interesting detail - the frustrated Emperor whiling away his days playing cards, or looking after his bees - the film takes the thriller route early on, and focuses on the mystery surrounding his death. Did Napoleon escape and begin a new life with a young British girl he fell in love with? Was he systematically poisoned by the British or even by one of his own trusted Lieutenants? Or, most controversially, was the body eventually buried in state in Paris that of his boyhood friend and butler?

Torreton and Grant excel as the feuding soldiers, and Grant's Lowe tries and fails to match the intellectual levels of Napoleon. As the great leader, Torreton is broody yet charismatic, and displays a quiet inner sense of character which matches the sombre tones and shadows of the film well. Life in St. Helena - actually shot in South Africa - is convincingly depicted as a remote and stormy island, perfect for housing such an inmate.

However, the screenplay and direction take too many complicated routes, and by halfway through the film it begins to become difficult to ascertain which story we are actually meant to believe. At times, there is an old-fashioned feeling to the film's look and structure, almost like watching an episode of Poldark, but for the most part this is quite engrossing stuff.