The Libertine Review
by Mark R. Leeper (markrleeper AT yahoo DOT com)April 26th, 2005
THE LIBERTINE
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: Johnny Depp plays a role unlike any he
has played before. (Doesn't he always?) This
film about a great rake in Restoration England
is a literate morality tale. The writing is
good, but the presentation is indifferent.
Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10
"Anyone can oppose. It's fun being against things. But there comes a time when one must be for things." This is the advice that Charles II (played by John Malkovich) gives supreme cynic John Wilmot (Johnny Depp) in the film THE LIBERTINE, directed by Laurence Dunmore from a literate and intelligent screenplay by Stephen Jeffreys based on his play.
During the English Restoration period the John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester, is one of the great minds of England as well as one of its most shameless rakes. (Historically the two capacities do seem to go hand in hand.) His father saved the life of King Charles II and Charles admires Rochester's talent for words, but Rochester just wants to be the worst bad boy he can arrange to be and to squander every advantage he has. On a bet Rochester adopts a very bad stage actress and tutors her on his own ideas about acting. Though he really has no credentials he manages to turn her into a very fine actress. Requested to write a major literary work for Charles to use as a status symbol for his country, Rochester decides to write an extreme embarrassment for Charles. Perhaps a story that dwells so long on one man's decadence is not the highest aspiration the film could wish for, but the Depp performance certainly makes the film worthwhile by itself.
In stark contrast to Michael Hoffman's RESTORATION, set in the same period and making it look magnificent, Dunmore gives us images of painted dandies and fops walking in streets of running mud, muck, and sewage. The photography and language are murky and smoky. Depp really stretches his range in the sort of role that at one time might have gone to John Hurt. The film shows the degradation of the character from handsome fop to . . ., well, to a much lower state. Depp may well be the finest actor of his generation. Certainly he is frequently claimed to be. And this could well be regarded as one of his best roles, if the film will get a release. I saw it at a film festival where it was called a work in progress. It is not clear what the producers want from the film. It could be it needs more technical enhancement, as the photography seemed so dark. If there were dramatic problems or production problems like editing they were not evident. I rate the version I saw of THE LIBERTINE a high +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10.
Mark R. Leeper
[email protected]
Copyright 2005 Mark R. Leeper
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
