Sunday Review

Something rather different from  me today - a film review.

Last night I watched “The Libertine” starring Johnny Depp and John Malkovitch. Yes, I did recognise some interior shots of Tretower Court which is very close to my birthplace and which I have visited on more than one occasion.

I enjoyed it very much because I am a lover of history but it is not for those who are easily shocked or offended. It is certainly NOT  family viewing either because of the language used and some of the images shown.

The film is based on the life of John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester and friend of King Charles 11. Wilmot was befriended by Charles because Wilmot’s father had assisted Charles whilst in exile. Friend or not Wilmot truly was a libertine. He delighted and revelled in sex be it heterosexual or homosexual, he wrote extremely bawdy poems and plays and drank to excess once boasting that he had not been sober for five years. His long suffering wife had to put up with his behaviour until she could take no more. He eventually did truly fall in love with a woman and helped her to become a famous actress on the London stage at a time when women were just entering the acting profession but she did not want him as he wanted her - not only to be his wife but also the mother of his child.

Charles banished him from court many times because of his behaviour but always forgave him. Commissioned to write a play by Charles because "Elizabeth 1 had her Shakespeare" and Charles wanted his, Wilmot came up with the most obscene play that he could write. Not only was it obscene but was aimed directly at Charles 11 himself. The King attended along with the French Ambassador and was obviously appalled. Although himself known as “The Merry Monarch” who had many mistresses, this was a step too far. Wilmot was disgraced and had to flee. The film then goes on to chronicle his descent even further into drink and venereal disease. Wilmot was obviously a man with great talent but with a “self-destruct” button that he could not or would not turn off. He died  in his early thirties having finally done something to redeem himself in his own eyes.

The settings and make-up are superb although the film is shot darkly. The language is somewhat flowery as it would have been then. It perfectly captures the time of the Restoration period when after years of Puritan rule, anything went, literally anything, as people gave free rein to their desires.

A truly stunning performance by Johnny Depp proving what a remarkably fine and rather under-rated actor he is. He can tackle any role and make it believable. John Malkovitch makes a subtle Charles 11 and with a very strong supporting cast it is worth watching for the acting alone.

The film opens with a prologue where John Wilmot says “You will not like me, I do not want you to like me”. In the end you cannot help liking him a little and also feeling  sorry for him - sorry  that he threw his life away, a life that held such promise if only he had channelled his abilities in the right direction.

If you like true stories, if you like a film that makes you think, if you enjoy history and are not shocked by explicit sexual references and images -  and I do mean explicit,  although it does not make for easy viewing - you should enjoy it.