“Jeanne du Barry” is a French historical drama film directed by Maïwenn, who also stars as the titular character. The movie explores the life of Jeanne Bécu, Countess du Barry, the last royal mistress of King Louis XV of France. Set against the opulent backdrop of the French court, the film delves into Jeanne’s rise from humble beginnings to the heights of aristocracy, capturing the complexities of her relationship with the king and her influence at court. The narrative intertwines personal ambition, love, and the political intrigues of the era, providing a window into the decadence and tumultuous social climate leading up to the French Revolution.
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This movie has great visual beauty: costumes and settings are breathtaking and the cinematography is impressive. But I did have some mixed feelings when leaving the theater. This was partly due to the writing, that felt at times a bit lazy, with superficial dialogues and some abrupt jumps in time, that they tried to overcome by a voice-over filling-in several chronologic blanks (talk about lazy!).
Johnny Depp is convincing as Louis XV, his somewhat mumbling and understated way of acting suits the character fine and his French diction is impeccable. The king’s mischievous sisters are at many times hilarious, and I was impressed by Benjamin Lavernhe as the king’s trusted valet, his part is one of the few more multilayered ones, and he moved me to tears when at the end he had to say goodbye to his dying master. But the parts of Jeanne’s beloved stepson Adolphe, as well as that of Louis’s beloved third daughter, stay way too sketchy (both having hardly one line to speak) to make the supposedly enormous impact that their loss had on Jeanne and Louis relatable.
My biggest problem however was Maïwenn. She is also the director and one of the writers, and apparently couldn’t resist the challenge of also taking on the major and pivotal part of Jeanne. Jeanne DuBarry was 24 years old when she, as a young and ravishing beauty, caught the eye of King Louis. Well, Maïwenn can hardly be called a beauty; besides, she was already past 45 at the time of shooting, and clearly looked her age. In her sumptuous costumes she may make a royal impression, but it’s hard to swallow that the king specifically chose her out of that endless line of much more attractive and younger women.
In short: not really bad, with great visual beauty (and by the way an equally impressive score!), but unfortunately neither really good.
Without giving away spoilers, I will say that Jeanne du Barry is an exquisite example and throwback to classic cinema/storytelling that you used to see in the golden age of Hollywood. Maïwenn is truly a quadruple threat having produced, directed, written and starred in this film. She did it with such ease you would forget the countless hours, days, weeks, months and years spent on bringing this masterpiece to a global audience.
I have to admit if it wasn’t for Johnny Depp I would never know who Jeanne du Barry was nor sit still for a foreign language film where I have to read captions and not be able to focus on the scenes. So I would recommend seeing this film more than once because there were sentences that I missed being so focused on what was happening on screen.
The unexpected surprise was I didn’t expect this film to have as many comedic moments as it did — thought it was a straight-up drama. I will say the comedy sprinkled throughout the movie was perfect. Johnny Depp really showed his humorous side and it was so endearing and nice to laugh. While we are on the subject of Johnny Depp, let me say it was so emotional seeing and hearing him back on the big screen — he has been sorely missed. I will also say, as it should be because it is her story, he appropriately played a very strong supporting role in the sense that I felt like it was a throwback to what we saw with Finding Neverland where there was a strong female character, and his role was to be there to support them in the story. I saw glimpses of Charlie Chaplin, a throwback to actors who excel at saying less and doing more using his presence and nonverbal acting chops to tell the story (like in Edward Scissorhands), which I find an incredible skill among the best actors.
The ending is beyond emotional, so bring those tissues. I think what flew over the heads of some film reviews is the fact this was a very deep, emotional yet simplistic telling of her story. It was designed that way. Huge props to the amazing costumes, sets and capturing the historic beauty that is the Palace of Versailles itself! What a privilege to film in the former royal residence of the king himself!
Overall, this film was really solid given we don’t see too many foreign language films open in US theaters. There were actually more people than I expected for a Thursday night. I definitely look forward to owning this on digital when it comes out.
Keep in mind you’re gonna see an amazingly mature Johnny Depp and I don’t just mean his age. You’re gonna see 40 years of acting experience pulled into this role that he played and I think from the fan perspective, people will truly appreciate the effort that he put into this film. I really hope you enjoy the movie as much as I did. Night one is done. Coming up: Friday, Saturday and Sunday still contemplating if I will go back Monday night to complete this movie marathon.
Wow, amazing review! I was hesitant because of the long runtime, but you totally convinced me to check it out!