Johnny Depp’s Jeanne du Barry, which marks his comeback to acting after his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, opened the Cannes Film Festival 2023 on May 16. The reviews are here, but they are not very good. Until now, after 23 reviews, the film has a score of 52 per cent. Directed by and starring Maïwenn, the film has Depp essaying the role of Louis XV, the King of France from 1715 until his death in 1774. Maïwenn plays the titular role of Louis’ favorite courtesan, Jeanne du Barry. Louis Garrel, Pierre Richard, and Noémie Lvovsky also star.
Jeanne du Barry‘s story:
The official synopsis of Jeanne du Barry reads, “Jeanne Vaubernier, a working-class woman determined to climb the social ladder, uses her charms to escape her impoverished condition. Her lover, the Comte du Barry, grown rich thanks to Jeanne’s amorous intrigues, wishes to present her to the King and orchestrates a meeting through the influential Duke of Richelieu. The encounter goes far beyond his expectations: for Louis XV and Jeanne, it’s love at first sight. Through the courtesan, the king rediscovers his appetite for life: so much that he can no longer live without her and decides to make her his official favorite. Scandal ensues. No one wants a girl from the streets at Court.”
Here are some of Jeanne du Barry‘s reviews:
Vanity Fair‘s Richard Lawson wrote, “Jeanne du Barry is guilty entertainment, preening and ahistorical and basely compelling. In that sense, it succeeds.”
The Daily Beast‘s Esther Zuckerman wrote, “Confusing? Misguided? Maybe the most pro-French monarchy movie you’ll ever see? (Sorry, Marie Antoinette.) But none of that really has to do with Depp beyond his very casting. Depp is essentially a nonentity in the movie.”
London Evening Standard‘s Jo-Ann Titmarsh wrote, “Maïwenn’s Jeanne du Barry is both glamorous and French, but is it dire, as Cannes tradition dictates? Well, no it isn’t, but it isn’t very good either.”
Variety‘s Peter Debruge wrote, “Clumsy as the film can be, Maïwenn taps into the emotional core of a most unusual relationship, such that we mourn how and why it eventually dissolves.”
Daily Telegraph‘s Robbie Collin wrote, “The central relationship never convinces – it all just feels like a performance, put on for the benefit of the courtiers and by extension, us.”
