|
THE LIBERTINE |
||
|
By : Suzanne Philips |
Movie Reviews List | |
|
THE LIBERTINE Directed by Laurence Dunmore (A Million Little Pieces - Pre-Production) Written by Stephen Jeffreys- based on his play Starring: Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), Rosamund Pike (Doom), Samantha Morton (Minority Report), Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), John Malkovich (Con Air) Rated R Running Time 2 hours 10 min. THE LIBERTINE, based on the play by Stephen Jeffreys, is the story of John Wilmot (Johnny Depp), the 2nd Earl of Rochester. Wilmot was a poet and writer but was better known for his love of drink and sex and for pushing the envelope, which found him banished from London and driven to an early grave. It was only after his untimely death at age 33 that people began to praise his work and understand his brand of genius. THE LIBERTINE as a stage play was a critical success when it premiered in London, earning author Jeffreys many prestigious theatre critics awards. The story and screenplay is a highly sexualized work which is both shocking and poignant. The script fairly accurately portrays England in the 1600's and shows the vast differences in the class system between the Monarchy and the House of Lords and the servants and people of the theatre. People in that era did the same sort of debauched things that go on today, only there were no reality TV shows which brought it into the home every day. Everything was swept under the rug and no one would dare to speak of it in public, it just wasn't done. John Wilmot, however, believed in putting it on display. Johnny Depp is, again, outstanding at Wilmot. Depp has long been one of the great actors of our time and is finally getting some of the recognition for that. He can take on a role and completely transform himself into that character and make you forget he is Johnny Depp. Wilmot starts the film with a prologue of him speaking into the camera, assuring audiences that they will not like him. And when the film is done they will like him even less. Depp is sexy and charming. A classic rogue with too much wine and too many women. But you also see another level to the Earl. Underneath all of the testing of boundaries and flipping off that he does to society's rules, he is just looking to FEEL something. He wants to escape the boredom he feels in everyday life. He wants to feel love and be loved in return. Depp masterfully portraying all the subtleties that this role demands and from the first frame of him in all his sexy finery, to the last frame when he is decayed and dying. Rosamund Pike gives a very nice performance as the Earl's unappreciated wife who loves him in spite of knowing that her feelings are not returned as she had hoped. Samantha Morton plays Lizzie, an actress trying to make a name for herself who falls in loves with Wilmot and shows him that he is capable of loving someone in return. What I really liked about this script was that the female leads are both strong women who are not afraid to fight for what they believe in. Most period films tend to show women in subservient roles and expect us to believe that no strong women existed in that time period. Both of these actresses are very believable and do a nice job of holding their own with Depp, which is not an easy feat. John Malkovich plays King Charles II and is quite good. His timing is excellent and his lines are well delivered. However, he just can't hold his own with Depp in this film. I am sure I am going to hear some groaning and backlash for saying this, as Malkovich is touted as one of the great actors of the generation. Perhaps it is just that his role is not as clearly defined as Depp's, but you can check it out for yourself. I thought that the set design and costuming were really well done. It seemed very authentic and the actors were very at home in their clothes, you begin to forget that it is a period piece at times. The problem I have with this film is the direction and lighting design. While I applaud first time director Dunmore for trying to use natural lighting and candle light in the film to keep it authentic, there is just an air of him trying to hard. There is so little lighting and so much fog in the film that one would have to believe that it rains in England all the time and you can never see so much as an inch in front of you! I am all for poetic license but it is really over the top here. Some of the shots that Dunmore chose made no sense for this film. Lots of hand-held and steadycam shots, lots of out of focus shots which snap back into focus - it just seems as though this was shot by a film student or amateur videographer. The sound editing is also not good as many scenes are very hard to hear all of the dialogue and leave the audience trying to catch up. It is really a shame because it is a moving script and the performances are wonderful but the direction is a terrible annoyance in this film. This is not a film for people who are easily offended. There are a lot of graphic sex scenes, the progression of Wilmot's disease are disturbing and graphic, but if you can get over that, Depp's performance alone is worth the price of admission. 3 out of 5 |
|