Vanessa Kirby joined Joaquin Phoenix at the premiere of their new movie Napoleon at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on Thursday.
The Crown star, 35, looked as elegant as ever as she was seen smiling for snaps with her co-star, 49, on the red carpet of the star-studded event.
Joaquin stars as Napoleon Bonaparte in the biopic, which depicts the French leader’s rise to power, while Vanessa portrays his first wife Empress Joséphine.
For the glitzy premiere, Vanessa cut a glamorous figure in a stunning one-shouldered red gown with a train that billowed out behind her.
She let her outfit do all the talking as she posed up a storm for the camera, making sure all eyes were on her as she stormed the red carpet.
Wow! Vanessa Kirby joined Joaquin Phoenix at the premiere of their new movie Napoleon at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on Thursday
Gorgeous: The Crown star, 35, looked as elegant as ever as she was seen posing for snaps on the red carpet of the star-studded event
Vanessa was also seen smiling for snaps with Joaquin, who cut a suave figure in a black suit for the occasion.
Joaquin was seen sweetly planting a kiss on Vanessa’s head as the co-stars posed together for their big night.
Also on the red carpet were Rolling Stones star Ronnie Wood and his wife Sally, who looked as loved-up as ever as they posed arm-in-arm for the cameras.
Napoleon marks the first time Joaquin has been reunited with director Sir Ridley Scott since starring in Gladiator in 2000.
Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a Corsican-born French military commander and political leader.
He gained fame during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars.
The film explores Napoleon’s climb to power through his relationship with his wife Josephine.
It was previously titled Kitbag which referred to the saying: ‘There is a general’s staff hidden in every soldier’s kitbag.’ The expression means it is possible for any soldier to become a general.
Beauty: For the glitzy premiere, Vanessa cut a glamorous figure in a stunning one-shouldered red gown with a train that billowed out behind her
Pals: Joaquin was seen sweetly planting a kiss on Vanessa’s head as the co-stars posed together for their big night
Celebrating: Vanessa was also seen smiling for snaps with Joaquin, who cut a suave figure in a black suit for the occasion
Stunner: She let her outfit do all the talking as she posed up a storm for the camera, making sure all eyes were on her
Speaking about the film, Ridley said: ‘Napoleon is a man I’ve always been fascinated by.
‘He came out of nowhere to rule everything –but all the while he was waging a romantic war with his adulterous wife Josephine.
‘He conquered the world to try to win her love, and when he couldn’t, he conquered it to destroy her. No actor could ever embody Napoleon like Joaquin.’
Ridley’s long-awaited Napoleon biopic has garnered glowing reviews in both Britain and the US.
However, French critics slammed the film as ‘deeply clumsy’ and ‘boring’ ahead of its release on November 22.
Historian Patrice Gueniffey, writing in Le Point, slammed the film as ‘the film of an Englishman… very anti-French’ and criticised the director for having ‘wokist biases’.
A reviewer for GQ said the film left them ‘bored’, adding there was something ‘clumsy’ but ‘unintentionally funny’ about seeing French soldiers shout ‘Vive la France’ with American accents.
Canadian French-language newspaper Le Devoir led with the headline ‘Not Waterloo, but not Austerlitz either,’ referencing Napoleon’s futile last stand in Belgium and his tactical ‘masterpiece’ against the Russians in today’s Czechia.
The article described Joaquin’s Napoleon as a ‘petulant man-child who doesn’t really seem to know what he’s doing’.
Criticism of the film’s direction comes after director Ridley has passionately hit back at claims of inaccuracies from historians including Dan Snow.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, French academic Dr Estelle Paranque acknowledged the film’s inaccuracies but insisted that ‘it is a movie, it is not a documentary’.
Reviews: Ridley’s long-awaited Napoleon biopic has garnered glowing reviews in both Britain and the US (pictured: Joaquin as Napoleon)
Cast: Joaquin stars as Napoleon Bonaparte in the biopic, which depicts the French leader’s rise to power, while Vanessa (pictured) portrays his first wife Empress Joséphine
Reality: Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a Corsican-born French military commander and political leader
But, speaking of the depiction of the execution of Marie Antoinette, she said: ‘It did annoy me a little because he made her kind of fearless and a bit feisty, and at the time honestly she was not.’
However, director Ridley hit back at accusations of historical ‘inaccuracies’. In an interview with the New Yorker, he told a critic to ‘get a life’ when pressed.
‘There are 400 books written about him. Maybe the first one was the most accurate, the next one is already doing a version of the author,’ he said.
‘By the time you get to book 399, guess what, there’s a lot of speculation.’
