The Libertine

 2/4

Starring: Johnny Depp, Samantha Morton, John Malkovich, Rosamund Pike, Tom Hollander

Rated R for Strong Sexuality including Dialogue, Violence and Language

He didn't resist temptation.  He pursued it.

As far as taglines go, that's a pretty good one.  Edgy, enticing and sensual.  One believes that Wilmot would have approved.

The subject of "The Libertine" is John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester.  He's an alcoholic sex addict who takes pleasure in insulting and offending everyone within his field of view.  The only thing that hasn't gotten this anarchic bulldozer executed is that he's so damn smart and witty.  King Charles II (Malkovich) sees his genius and overlooks his faults as much as he can.  His long suffering wife Elizabeth (Pike) does the same.  And a young actress named Lizzie (Morton) that he sees potential in puts up with his thorns because of what he can give her.  But for Wilmot, rules of propriety, decorum and common sense are not boundaries.  They are walls to be broken down, and he intends to do so with both middle fingers (and his package) in full view.

Johnny Depp is perfectly cast as Wilmot.  In fact, it could be argued that Depp is the only one who could have played him.  The film came out three years after he first played Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."  Strange as it may sound, that association helps us accept the character.  The roguish quality is here too in his portrayal of Wilmot, but the joie de vivre is notably absent.  Instead, we have a man so filled with bitterness and spite that he cannot contain it.  In his words, he hates reality because it gives him nothing.  Only what is going on in his head gives him pleasure.

Depp is cast with some of the best character actors in the business and most do great work.  John Malkovich, to my surprise, steals his scenes as a king who will put up with almost anything Wilmot dishes out because he knows what he stands to gain: a legacy.  Rosamund Pike provides the only light and warmth in Wilmot's world, to which he throws in her face.  Samantha Morton is a bit of a disappointment. It would be both inaccurate and unfair to say that she gives a bad performance because she doesn't.  The problem is that she has no chemistry with Depp in any way, shape or form.  Their scenes should have been energized with the same electricity that occurs when two good actors clash in a battle of wills.  But they're fairly mundane.  Any emotional component intended in their scenes together or their characters' relationship does not come across.

Mention must be made of the look of the film.  For whatever reason, first-time director Laurence Dunmore and his cinematographer Alexander Merman lit the film using candles and spent 6,890 pounds on vegetable oil smoke.  My hunch is that they did this to reflect the grungy, dirty atmosphere of the period instead of aping "Masterpiece Theater."  But this is frequently distracting and occasionally it looks like the film is being played on an IMAX screen through a 56k modem.

"The Libertine" starts and finishes strong.  The dialogue is rich and intelligent (not surprising, considering that it's based on a play).  Many of the lines are pleasurable simply because they are so well-crafted.  Unfortunately though, the material is a bit dry, and not even the valiant efforts of the cast can help with that.  And that proves to be its biggest failure.