Release Date: March 10, 2006
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexuality including dialogue, violence and language
Directed by: Laurence Dunmore
Starring: Johnny Depp, Samantha Morton, John Malkovich, Rosamund Pike, Tom Hollander, Johnny Vegas, Kelly Reilly, Jack Davenport, Richard Coyle, Francesca Annis, Claire Higgins
Plot:
'The Libertine' follows the adventures of John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester, in London of the 17th century. He has a passionate romance with a young actress, Elizabeth Barry, and he writes a scurrilous play which lampoons the monarch who commissioned it, Charles II, leading to the Earl's banishment and eventual downfall.
Review:
The Libertine stars Johnny Depp in one of his best performances of his acting career. Needless to say, the film itself does an injustice to what he brought to the screen. In other words, Johnny Depp is brilliant and the film isn't. Depp has been superb in his recent efforts such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Finding Neverland and even the quirky and odd version of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In this film Depp plays more of a serious character much like in Finding Neverland.
John Wilmot is the character Depp plays who was a poet and had an addiction with alcohol. So the concept would be to experience everything that made this person famous and show why he was incredibly talented. Yet, thats not the case because sadly The Libertine mostly shows what made Wilmot fall and not what made him rise. For an audience that knows little or nothing about Wilmot will be terribly confused.
Of course, the scriptwriter wanted it this way and it was written by Stephen Jeffreys. This is the first screenplay for Jeffreys, although he has written plays. The dialogue in The Libertine is solid, but becomes part of a dark and silly ride. There are scenes that go on unnecessarily long, especially when Wilmot teaches up and coming actors to improve. One thing that is certain since the beginning of this film is that you won't like Wilmot and you are not supposed to like him. This man doesn't care about much else, but himself and doesn't mind if he offends anyone, he's all about the booze.
From the moment I began watching The Libertine, the direction was flawed. Debut Director Laurence Dunmore delivers in a disappointing matter. The film is unevenly paced, momentum is hardly built up and the fall of Wilmot comes unexpectedly and at random. Its fine if the viewer is not supposed to like Wilmot, but we first need to know what he is all about. Yes, so he was a poet, drank and was a womanizer, but there are pieces here that are missing.
The Libertine as an incredible cast that not only includes Johnny Depp, but also Samantha Morton as Elizabeth Barry and John Malkovich as King Charles II. All give solid performances, but not much else is on par. There is nothing to devour in this film, there is nothing to dissect. This film does not help you understand more about Wilmot than the basics. In his time, John Wilmot proved he can be a real talented poet and a very disliked man, but Libertine has more of the latter than the former.
With The Libertine, Johnny Depp shows that he can even portray a character at its best even when its in a state of mediocrity. At best, audiences can find The Libertine humorous and entertaining, but hardly knowledgeable. I question how accurate of the 17th century this film is, the costume and sets are well done, thats for certain. There are three parts in life though, birth, living and death, The Libertine is missing the first two.
