The Libertine (2004)
Average Rating: 4.7/10
Reviews Counted: 122
Fresh: 40 | Rotten: 82
Despite Johnny Depp's zealous performance, muddled direction and murky cinematography hinder The Libertine.
Average Rating: 4.6/10
Critic Reviews: 34
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 25
Despite Johnny Depp's zealous performance, muddled direction and murky cinematography hinder The Libertine.
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Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 70,472
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Movie Info
A man who lives for pleasure finds his hedonism betrays him in time in this film adaptation of the play by Stephen Jeffreys. The second Earl of Rochester, John Wilmot (Johnny Depp), was a notorious figure in 17th century Europe; well-respected as a poet and author, Wilmot also earned no small degree of gossip for his freewheeling sex life and appetite for decadence. Wilmot was close friends with Charles II (John Malkovich), the powerful and Machiavellian ruler of England, and enjoyed a
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Cast
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Johnny Depp
John Wilmot Second Earl... -
John Malkovich
King Charles II -
Samantha Morton
Elizabeth Berry -
Rosamund Pike
Elizabeth Malet -
Tom Hollander
Sir George Etherege -
Johnny Vegas
Charles Sackville -
Kelly Reilly
Jane -
Jack Davenport
Harris -
Richard Coyle
Alcock -
Francesca Annis
Countess -
Rupert Friend
Downs -
Clare Higgins
Molly Luscombe -
Tom Burke
Vaughan
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All Critics (122) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (84) | DVD (18)
What emerges from the bilious murk of first-time director Laurence Dunmore's film is a sad picture of an intelligent and talented writer who opted for self-indulgence and gratuitous insult over anything more meaningful.
Top CriticAs the character grows sicker and quieter, the drama's energy fades.
The point seems to be that too much of a good thing leads to a vast sense of nothingness and bleak cinematography. Alas, it also results in transforming a film about a sensualist into a remarkably sexless enterprise.
A bawdy Restoration romp that doesn't. Romp.
From time to time, a gem-like line shines from the squalor, but in general, it's merely the film's suffocating cynicism that registers.
Depp's depraved character does have twisted poignancy.
If Johnny Depp's barmy stumble through the yo-ho-hum Pirates sequel was playtime rehash, then his loathsome portrayal of the pestilent aristocrat Earl of Rochester shows an actor still daring to push the margins of his persona.
Big dull drag of a movie.
Slightly pretentious, but original enough to be a bit interesting, and buoyed by strong performances from Depp and Morton, The Libertine is a decent telling of a historical footnote, most interesting because of its strong feminist message.
Completely unshocking
Based on Stephen Jeffreys' play, about 17th century iconoclastic poet the 2nd Earl of Rochester (Johnny Depp), "The Libertine" fails to pay off on its promises of taboo sex.
It feels both overlong and incomplete.
Under the veneer of another fine/creepy Depp performance, the film falls flat.
A difficult film to watch, but one that speaks to our own invidious world.
[Director] Dunmore creates a memorably grimy London, but the moral grime covering the film proves less memorable.
I enjoyed it - or much of it - for reasons that have everything to do with Johnny Depp.
The performances are impeccable, but what might have been a handsome period drama, is compromised by a drawn out screenplay and over-stylised grainy production ... this dark tale of excess is pure theatre.
The story itself isn't as compelling as Depp's performance.
Mesmo em filmes irregulares como este, Johnny Depp é sempre capaz de despertar o interesse do espectador.
Historical accuracy is a liability instead of an asset in this painfully exact recreation of 1670s London . . .
This ugly creation uses graphic sex, bad hygiene, mud, diseased features and Depp wetting his pants (we get to see the puddle) to illustrate the perils of hedonism.
...the subject matter and marginal execution make it a hard sell to all but the most ardent fans of Depp, who treats The Libertine as a personal acting workshop.
Audience Reviews for The Libertine
Super Reviewer
Wasting a very good performance from J Depp, Samantha Morton and John Malkovich, the film treds unevenly over the cobblestones of its debauchery - too graphic - yet not shocking, as the "love" scenes often become too long, too artsy, and too pointless.
The hedonistic aspect of the film is intriguing, and somewhere within there is a message pondering acts for self versus the selfless act. - I believe that the script would have been better if it had adhered more towards these ponderings instead of concerning itself with minor charactors, historical detours and dramatic non-sequitors.
Samantha Morton's charactor comes across as beguiling, and yet we remain unsure of her motivations, as so much appears to get glossed over by a simple "he is my lover" - but what does that mean? What is the context and why the later appearance of nonchalance? Was there something implied in the king's request that she be a spy against Depp that would lead her to detach herself from him? So much could have been mined here.
The introduction and conclusion are a nice touch, and the speach before the house of lords a wonderful tour de force by Depp (and almost worth viewing the rest of the film for), but even when the film does it right, ie. said scene in the house of lords, it squanders the dramatic credit by almost throwing away the subsequent meeting between Depp and Malkovich, tossing aside the true theme of the film just as easily as Depp's depraved charactor throws away the respect of his king and the adoration of his followers.
Super Reviewer
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- King Charles II: Anyone can oppose, it's fun to be against things, but there comes a time when you have to start being for things as well.
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- John Wilmot Second Earl of Rochester: Ask yourself what you want from the theatre.
- Elizabeth Berry: I want the passionate love of my audience. I want when I make a sweep of my arm to carry their hearts away and for when I die for them to sigh for never seeing me again, until the next afternoon.
- John Wilmot Second Earl of Rochester: There is your answer - I want to be one with that multitude, I wish to be moved. I cannot feel in life. I must have others do it for me here in the theatre.
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- John Wilmot Second Earl of Rochester: In my experience, those who do not like you fall into two categories: The stupid and the envious. The stupid will like you in five years time. The envious, never.
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