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Jack Nicholson as Maximilian Robespierre

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Jack Nicholson as Maximilian Robespierre

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"Felt like I was on the edge of my seat the entire film." - r/moviereviews on Reddit

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"Felt like I was on the edge of my seat the entire film." - r/moviereviews on Reddit

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"Truly introspective, a commentary on the current world." - Rotten Tomatoes

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"Truly introspective, a commentary on the current world." - Rotten Tomatoes

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The Exposition and Rising Action (Beginning)

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The Exposition and Rising Action (Beginning)

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The movie begins in 1789 with a small, humble family looking for bread to buy. They witness other families rushing to grab what they can from a baker who looks greatly exhausted, some even stealing. It then cuts to a discussion between the three estates, in the Estates General. Robespierre voices the third estate's complaints to Louis XVI, how they always lost 2:1 in voting, the overwhelming taxes that the second and first estates didn't have to pay, and how hungry the people of the third estate were. The third estate believes the best solution to fixing most things is to have representation based on population for each estate, naming the system the "National Assembly." Louis agrees to try it out the next time the estates meet, despite the protest of the second and first estates. They complained it would be unfair, and didn't like how their position was threatened. When they meet, all estates meet except the third estate, which was locked out. They decide to gather at a tennis court nearby and take an oath: not to disband until a constitution is made for the people of France. They hoped it would be a peaceful step for change in France. It cuts to a banquet in the palace, with Marie Antoinette and unnamed nobles that live in the palace barely eating from the massive plates of food in front of them, leaving them for the servants to throw away. It then cuts to a starving family, bones visible and their breathing shallow, with a defeated look on all of their faces as the child of the family cries.

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It returns to the family's perspective from the beginning, now in a crowd in front of the Bastille. It pans out to reveal the massive congregation of people angrily yelling towards the Bastille, wanting the National Assembly to stay, and guards eventually open the gates to the Bastille. People gathered and attacked the soldiers present, violently and ruthlessly attacking all, with the soldiers firing at them. The family does their best to run away but tramples under the crowd of rushing French commoners. After all the commotion, there is no break from the madness, as a three-month time-skip occurs to the March on the Palace of Versailles. It shows the perspective of Queen Marie Antoinette and her children, staring down at the massive crowd gathered at Versailles, all with a crazed look. They begin to burst inside, while Antoinette and Louis frantically attempt to escape, to no avail. The people forced King Louis XVI to adopt a legislative government in 1791 to work with the people, which failed after Louis, a weak leader who improperly represented his people, desperately attempted to overthrow the government with the assistance of monarchs from around the world. A vote for his and his partner's life, inching towards a tie, eventually is decided: "King Louis XVI and Queen Antoinette shall be.. Beheaded." Robespierre announces said information, and with a crooked smile, he creates and leads a new government named the "First Republic" in 1793, where any who disagree with the French Revolution shall be beheaded. Its original purpose, to support liberty, equality, and fraternity for all was lost in Robespierre's manic state. A glimpse of the remains of Louis is shown, lifeless, empty.

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The events from the Reign of Terror play, multiple execution ceremonies, each with the same speech, describing the crimes of the criminal being put to death. It then cuts to Robespierre, looking aged from the fear he feels on the execution stand as his ceremony is held. As the guillotine comes down, the people shout for the end of the First Republic in 1795. It cuts (pun haha) to a short man named Napoleon, who criticizes the Directory, the form of government that replaced the First Republic in 1795, which has two layers, one for making laws and the other for passing them. Napoleon performs a coup d'état in 1799 and names himself consul of France after recalling his younger years when he graduated at the age of 16 from a military academy. It fast forwards to the creation of the Napoleonic Codes, which gave men power over their families, the reintroduction of slavery, and deprived women of their rights. It then shows a nobleman and a commoner shaking hands, with the noble having a bible in his hand, and the commoner holding Genesis, showing the estate system crumbled, and religious tolerance for all. They speak in a school, one newly refurnished by Napoleon, where a class discusses the improved relations with the Pope which greatly increases Napoleon's influence. The two men discuss the recently restored centralized government, which brought stability and proper order to France, along with the topic of the Louisiana Purchase, which helped fund France in Napoleon's pursuit of European domination. While they speak, it cuts to a harsh winter in 1812, Russia, as Napoleon and an army of his are being defeated. He is sent to exile on the island of Elba, where he would escape and attack again at Waterloo. He fails one last time, and he watches his soldiers fall as he accepts defeat, and is exiled to prison on the island of Saint Helena, as he recounts his family who were recently appointed rulers of his recently conquered nations.