Exiled Napoleon (Sir Ian Holm) and his aides have come up with a cunning plan to get him from exile back into the heart of Paris where he can resurrect his imperial ambitions and restore his country to greatness. They have procured the services of an erstwhile deck hand who is the doppelgänger of the emperor and who has agreed to swap places. Carefully smuggled back to the mainland, the impoverished traveller has to make his own way to the city and with very few that he can trust to be loyal, he befriends the recently widowed “Nicole” (Iben Hjejle) and her young son “Gerard” (Tom Watson). Her late husband was to have been one of his contacts, and when it transpires that his replacement on St. Helena has decided not to play ball any longer, the emperor’s chances of regaining his throne look forlorn. Can he, though, in the face of the increasingly jealous hostility of “Dr. Lambert” (Tim McInnerny) make a new relationship with “Nicole” and perhaps make an whole new life for himself? Can he forget that he was who he was, or will it frustrate and haunt him to he grave? Sir Ian delivers quite a touching performance here, speculating on just what might have happened if Napoleon had ever managed to secret himself from his luxurious prison. He learns to appreciate life from the perspective of the ordinary, war-weary, population who cared not for grand ambitions. They just wanted a roof over their heads and food on the table for their families. The burgeoning romance is delicately developed and there’s a good rapport between man and woman and also man and boy, too. There has been plenty of attention paid to the detail of the film and there is the odd bit of comedy interspersed through this story of longing. Not really for history buffs, not romantic ones either - but it’s an enjoyable piece of postulation from an an actor who knew his craft.
