Ian Holm finds himself at the mercy of a silly, but occasionally charming, lesson in alternative history in this "What If?" fable. Escaping from his island prison after being defeated at Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte (Holm) returns to France, only to discover that no one believes he is who he says he is. Faced with the choice of being a failed prince or a contented pauper, the vertically challenged megalomaniac discovers just how far the mighty can fall.

The third outing for Holm as Napoleon - the actor previously played him on-screen in Time Bandits and the television series Napoleon And Love - this wistfully witty drama is a great showcase for the ageing thesp's wry comic ability.

After discovering that the double (also played by Holm) employed to fool the British guards into thinking that Napoleon is still under arrest on the island of St Helene is refusing to admit he's an imposter, the deposed emperor finds himself stuck in Paris, living with a poverty-stricken melon farmer named Pumpkin (Iben Hjejle) and unable to convince anyone that he's for real.

"AN UNREMARKABLE FILM"

Building on the old gag about those deluded souls who believe that sticking one hand in their jacket breast and wearing a pointy hat is enough to convince the world that they're Napoleon, this adaptation of Simon Leys' philosophical novel turns into a comic fable about the transitory nature of power and glory, with an obligatory trip to a Parisian mental hospital where everyone thinks they're the pint-sized dictator.

As a shaggy dog story, it's something of a toothless old hound, since director Alan Taylor (best known for helming chic US television shows like The West Wing and Sex And The City) never manages to discover the kind of breezy charm that made his last feature - crime comedy Palookaville - such a delight. Leaden rather than lightweight, it's an unremarkable film kept afloat only by Holm's graceful touch.