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The Libertine
Directed by: Laurence Dunmore
Starring: Johnny Depp
Genre:
Drama/Romance
Run Time: 130
min.
Release Date:
March 2006
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Watching this sumptuously
filmed movie, one gets the sense that more time went into
cinematography, lighting, and camera angles than the story itself.
Watching the DVD's extra features confirms some of those suspicions, as
the film took over seven years to make (due to financial woes and other
problems).
If you've read English literature and history, you are no doubt familiar
with the drinking and debauched behavior of Sir John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of
Rochester. His raunchy writings and lifestyle planted him in an early
grave but posthumously spun a web of literary notoriety. Some considered
him a man "ahead of his time." Others thought him a shallow defiler of
women who simply had a gift with his quill (both quills ...ahem!)
Whatever your historical take on the man, he certainly was
"interesting." But that's where trying to make a film out of such a life
fails. "Interesting" is not enough ...even when accompanied by great
camera work.
Johnny Depp (CHARLIE
AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY) plays John Wilmot and does so
in his usual deft manner. He's creepy, delivers lines like a razor, and
immerses us in this unsettled man's life. But the story is only
entertaining thanks to Depp's portrayal. The rest of the film is bland
and slow, accompanied by a love story that makes no sense.
For some (as mentioned previously), the excellent lighting, dizzying
camera pans of the theater, and dark sets will make this film pure
eye-candy. And it is. But there needs to be more than just good filming;
there needs to be a story we can grasp that is believable and filled
with angst. You most certainly won't find that here.
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Image from The Libertine
DVD cost: $14.99
Purchase:
BestPrices.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
£6,890 were spent on
vegetable oil-based smoke and fog, and £3,672 went into making elegantly
carved 17th-century dildos.
Movie Quote: "Elizabeth
had her Shakespeare. You can be mine."
Other Actors/Actresses
from The Libertine
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