The LibertineDirector: Laurence Dunmore
Starring: Johnny Depp, Samantha Morton, John Malkovich, Rosamund Pike, Jack Davenport, Richard Coyle
This movie has Johnny Depp plus not one, but two actors from the show Coupling. Well done!
Although, I have to admit it's not Depp's best looking role. Something about all that syphillis... I think the chameleon in Rango is a better looking Depp part. Just sayin.
Anyway, this one's a strange, twisted biopic, where Depp plays 17th century writer John Wilmot-- a sex-crazed lush who just doesn't know when to stop pissing people off. Samantha Morton plays the plain actress he falls in love with and coaches to stardom, while she and her pure ambition start to mess with Wilmot's mind. He blames her for making him love life, having been much happier doing nothing before. Strange relationship there.
Malkovich is underwhelming as King Charles II, the very king Depp pisses off with his play. It's the beginning of the end for the writer, as he succumbs to his illness and constant drunken stuppor at only 33.
A sad and tragic story, cut out of history for our like/disklike/indifference. Personally, I enjoy the style of the film, beginning and ending with a Depp-delivered speech to the camera, and the aimlessness of the main character. Little pieces of history from the time period always enthrall me, however, so I might be a bit biased :)
