Napoleon movie slap 'risks glamourising domestic violence'

Napoleon movie slap ‘risks glamourising domestic violence’: Anger over scene in new historical epic where Joaquin Phoenix struck actress in unscripted moment

  •  Actor Joaquin Phoenix has come under fire for spontaneously slapping his co-star for a scene in the upcoming Napoleon movie

A new blockbuster starring Joaquin Phoenix about the life of Napoleon Bonaparte has drawn swift condemnation from a women’s charity after the Hollywood star admitted to slapping his co-star on-set in an unscripted moment.  

Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the eponymous leading role in Sir Ridley Scott’s upcoming epic Napoleon, ended up slapping his co-star Vanessa Kirby, who plays his wife Empress Joséphine in a moment of spontaneity.

The film’s synopsis says it will depict Bonaparte’s rise to power and ‘his addictive and volatile relationship’ with Joséphine. 

Sir Ridley, 85, admitted in an interview with Empire magazine that the slap came completely out of the blue, but said he was thrilled to see it. 

‘He just f***ing slapped her. She didn’t know it was coming either, the whole room went [sharp intake of breath]. What could have been a boring scene suddenly had magic.’ 

Sir Ridley Scott’s new film is a historical blockbuster that says it will depict Napoleon’s ‘addictive and volatile relationship’ with his wife Joséphine

A women’s charity has warned that the film and Phoenix’s spontaneous slap of his co-star may end up romanticising abuse 

Despite the criticism, Sir Ridley said that the slap made the scene it was part of far more exciting 

But while the moment may have made the hotly-anticipated movie better, a spokesperson for Women’s Aid warned that it could also lead to broader consequences:

‘While the portrayal of domestic abuse and violence in cinema and on TV can generate greater awareness and discussion of the topic, it is vital that this is handled responsibly, with great awareness of the experience of survivors and with the sole purpose of educating the viewer – not romanticising abuse’, they said.

Phoenix told the magazine that he and Kirby agreed to surprise each other on set:

The film is about the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, who took power as France’s emperor shortly after the French Revolution  

Phoenix revealed that the pair had agreed to surprise each other while working on the film

Women’s Aid said the film would have to handle sensitive issues like domestic abuse with extreme care

‘She said, “You can slap me, you can grab me, you can pull me, you can kiss me, whatever it is”. We encouraged each other, demanded of each other, to challenge ourselves to shock each other in moments.’

Kirby added: ‘It’s the greatest thing when you have a creative partner and you say, “Right, everything’s safe. I’m with you. And we’re going to go to the dark places together”.’

Despite this, the Women’s Aid spokesperson said that actors and film-makers need to be careful with how they conduct themselves on set:

‘While this may have been a consensual part of the acting process in this case, descriptions like these could benefit from being more measured and the fact that domestic abuse and violence are completely intolerable in our society made explicitly clear,’ they added.

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