Review of The Libertine (2004) by Anastasia F — 16 Jan 2011

Johnny Depp plays John, Earl of Rochester who is invited back into society following his banishment to write a play for Charles II to show off to the new French ambassador. What the monarch gets, doesn't quite hit the mark and the earl becomes a fugitive from the King's displeasure.

Samantha Morton plays the young and initially hopeless actress Elizabeth Barry that becomes first project then mistress to the Earl while Rosamund Pike plays his regal wife.

This film takes the word 'bawdy' to new levels and in some places is so near the knuckle that it should be sold under the counter. What saves it from being mere titillation (!) is the fantastic cast, cinematography and evocation of the period setting. There is also the Earl's considerable fall from grace. We see him reduced to a syphilis riddled madman, raging against the world before he finally puts on his finest production in a scene that the modern House of Lords can't even begin to match.

Topped and tailed by powerful monologues by Johnny Depp this is a magnificent period piece that is not a comfortable watch and definitely not for the prudish.