Laurence Dunmore/UK/2004; R4
Roadshow, $29.95 | Reviewed by Brannavan Gnanalingam

A LOT OF people would love to be Johnny Depp (or at least do him). His effortless coolness, his smoldering good looks, and his general disdain for things like Hollywood make him a modern day equivalent of the celebrated rock stars of the 60s and the 70s. As a result, he’s probably a natural choice to play the Second Earl of Rochester, John Wilmot, the hard-drinking, womanising genius from Restoration-era England.

The Libertine is based on Stephen Jeffreys’ play (Jeffreys also wrote the script) and was originally performed on stage with John Malkovich as Wilmot. Malkovich plays Charles II instead in the film, as Depp takes centre-stage with an outrageous and over-the-top performance. The film focuses on his decline (as opposed to his naval exploits or his precocious talent – the real Wilmot studied at Oxford at the age of twelve), such as goading the King, mentoring (so the legend goes) and falling in love with the famous actor Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton) and his eventual death by venereal disease.

Visually, the film takes a few cues from Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, relying on candles to light the action. In fact, I wondered what Kubrick would have made of this material. For a start, he wouldn’t have been so conservative. By all accounts, the real Wilmot was a naturally scandalous chap, but this film relied on people telling us that he was debauched rather than showing anything. There wasn’t a sense of hedonism that you might have expected, the opening prologue mentioned Wilmot’s bisexuality, but the film itself was far too shy to even suggestively show this. In fact there was a sense of puritanism about this film (which obviously Wilmot would have been rallying against given the conservative fervour of England in the Interregnum – the theatres were shut down for example). All you see is a man die from having too much sex and alcohol – is that meant to be a lesson for us all? I would have forgiven this all if there was a sense of humour, but for a man who is renowned for his wittiness and outrageousness, there was very, very little of that in the film.

On the plus side however, there is Depp’s performance. While not as outrageously good fun as Jack Sparrow, Depp throws his considerable acting talent into the role. In particular, his interactions with his wife Elizabeth Malet (an excellent, underused performance by Rosamund Pike) are compelling and even, touching. While they may be not enough to save the film, it certainly does offer a point of interest. While The Libertine isn’t a total mess, it may have been considerably more interesting if it had just reveled in the mess.


THE DVD contains a number of special features, including numerous deleted scenes. I wonder if they might have assisted in shaping the overall film more, but then the original film did feel a little long. There is also commentary by Laurence Dunmore, and the theatrical trailer.