Starring: Johnny Depp, John Malkovich and Samantha Morton
Director: Laurence Dunmore
Rated: MA15+
SOME audiences who have not done their homework to find out what The Libertine is about will be attracted by the promises of a salacious-sounding title.
If they buy a ticket, they will probably find the film tough going.
While it is very frank in its language and theme, it will disappoint the prurient. It is much more serious than that.
And, with its love of the English language and theatre, it might come across as very high brow.
John Wilmot, the dissipated Duke of Rochester, the subject of the film, would approve both of the frankness and the intelligence, probably praising the latter while calling for more of the former.
This is a very good film for those who have been warned.
The Restoration period was a huge reaction against the Puritan decades of Oliver Cromwell, the Protectorate and the Commonwealth. And the rakish Charles II led the way.
As the opening information to the film reminds us, these were excessively permissive times.
Centre-screen is Rochester (Johnny Depp) himself in bold, dark grey close-up, warning us that we will not like him. And he does his best to ensure this, not only for the audience but for his extraordinarily patient wife Elizabeth (Rosamund Pike) and even Charles II (a nuanced performance by John Malkovich, often acting with his eyes rather than his voice) and the court entourage.
Rochester embodied the spirit of the times, writing plays and poems (described as “philosophy in verse”), womanising as if there were no tomorrow (and, in fact, there was little tomorrow for him as he died at 33, disfigured by syphilis), a boorish drunk, masquerading as a doctor when Charles II banished him, yet taking theatre very seriously and directing Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton at her best) to become the greatest actress on the London stage.
Yet, he was a critic of the politics of the times, upsetting the king with his denunciations but making a final almost death speech to the Lords in support of the succession of Catholic James II.
Why does the film work so well, especially when it is often difficult to peer at?
The photography is not quite black and white, not quite colour. It does not have the Restoration splash and brightness we have come to expect.
This is a literally muddy England. The colours are not only muted, they almost disappear.
However, this is balanced by a musical score which echoes the instruments and styles of the times.
There are two reasons for The Libertine’s success. The first is the writing as Stephen Jeffrey adapts his very literate play for the screen. The film values English language.
The second reason is the performance by Johnny Depp. In 2004-5, he appeared in Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride and The Libertine.
He is certainly one of the best American actors of the times (though all these productions are British and he uses an impeccable British accent).
This is a performance of deserved award-winning calibre.
In a way, this is a pity because The Libertine and its portrayal of the period will be too much for many audiences in both theme and in language.
