Film Review
The Libertine
Dir. Laurence DunmoreScr. Stephen Jeffreys
Johnny Depp
Samantha Morton
John Malkovich
Official Site - www.thelibertine-movie.com
Johnny Depp is a 17th century earl/poet/--binge-drinker and indiscriminate shagger of women. The Libertine is a tale of decay and immorality in post-Puritan England. Charles II has been restored to the throne and England is recovering from the strictures of Puritan times.
In this period John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, is a gifted poet who basically throws his life away in the pursuit of debauchery. "You will not like me" is an opening phrase thrown out of the shadows as Depp's character first comes onto the screen. Even with Depp in the lead role this statement holds true.
The film is shadowy, grainy and decidedly muddy-looking, much like the period in which it was set, which only adds more depth to the darkness of the mans life. Wilmot is relentless in his self-destruction and there is little to redeem him--he is generous in a way that only the absolutely decadent can be--he has morals but they are not found in the codes of his day, church or sovereign. His journey comes to an rugged end beginning with his violation of the King's trust and everything goes pear-shaped form then on. Wilmot contracted syphilis and died painfully of its effect--the rakish beauty of the man exchanged for the hideously lesioned body of a man whose flesh is rotting away. At the end of the film Wilmot does something to redeem himself--it is not much given the trail of heartache and pain he has left in the lives of friends and family--but it was enough to make me leaving the movie liking the man more than he would probably have wanted. A beautiful and sparse piano score adds tension and beauty to the film and offers a hint of beauty in this sublime and tragic tale.
In this period John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, is a gifted poet who basically throws his life away in the pursuit of debauchery. "You will not like me" is an opening phrase thrown out of the shadows as Depp's character first comes onto the screen. Even with Depp in the lead role this statement holds true.
The film is shadowy, grainy and decidedly muddy-looking, much like the period in which it was set, which only adds more depth to the darkness of the mans life. Wilmot is relentless in his self-destruction and there is little to redeem him--he is generous in a way that only the absolutely decadent can be--he has morals but they are not found in the codes of his day, church or sovereign. His journey comes to an rugged end beginning with his violation of the King's trust and everything goes pear-shaped form then on. Wilmot contracted syphilis and died painfully of its effect--the rakish beauty of the man exchanged for the hideously lesioned body of a man whose flesh is rotting away. At the end of the film Wilmot does something to redeem himself--it is not much given the trail of heartache and pain he has left in the lives of friends and family--but it was enough to make me leaving the movie liking the man more than he would probably have wanted. A beautiful and sparse piano score adds tension and beauty to the film and offers a hint of beauty in this sublime and tragic tale.