If you want to escape the troubles of today with a lavish and, at times, sexy story of the French royal court just before the Revolution, then the new movie, Jeanne du Barry, which opens on September 28 throughout Israel – and is the opening-night film of the Haifa International Film Festival – may be just what you’re looking for.
Directed by and starring Maiwenn, the movie features Johnny Depp in his first all-French speaking role as Louis XV and tells the story of his liaison with the famous courtesan, Jeanne Becu, who later became the Comtesse du Barry. Maiwenn, who has made such well-regarded films as Mon Roi and Polisse, stars as the courtesan of the title, and the king is more of a supporting character in her story. It’s a dramatic tale that has been told on film 10 times before, going back to the silent movie era, with Theda Bara portraying Jeanne. Lucille Ball played her in an extended fantasy sequence in the 1943 film, Du Barry was a Lady, while, most recently, Asia Argento portrayed her in Sofia Coppola’s 2006 movie, Marie Antoinette.
The daughter of a poor working woman and a father who was believed to be a member of the Catholic clergy, the young Jeanne appears as a child and an adolescent in a prologue. Given her provenance, she is understandably cynical about life and uses her beauty to entice a patron to send her to a convent school, from which she is, predictably, expelled for breaking rules. From then on, she uses her charms to make her way and is the mistress of a series of increasingly rich and powerful men, until she catches the eye of the king.
While at first, she assumes that her affair with the king will be brief, it gradually deepens into what would be called a meaningful relationship. The king, bored by the sycophants who surround him and weary of life in the public eye – his daily morning ritual is one of the comic high points of the movie and involves dozens of servants, courtiers, and family members – starts to find comfort and fun with the brash, playful Jeanne. While it is normal for the king to have lovers, he brings her into the palace and spends time with her in public, which causes a scandal and angers his daughters. Much of the movie is concerned with her maneuvering to stay in his good graces and win over his spoiled daughters, as well as his new daughter-in-law, Marie Antoinette (Pauline Pollmann).
The relationship between Jeanne and the French king
You might assume this is all heading toward the French Revolution, but the movie stops far short of that event, concentrating on the relationship between the sovereign and Jeanne. Depp, who has never been short on presence, gives an entertaining performance as the king, although, not surprisingly, French critics faulted him for his language skills. As accomplished as his performance is, I never forgot for a moment that this was the actor who plays Jack Sparrow in The Pirates of the Caribbean series. or that he spent the last few years embroiled in court fighting his ex-wife, Amber Heard (which is the subject of the Netflix three-part documentary series, Depp v Heard, which I avoided since I felt I knew all that I needed to know – and much more – about their rotten marriage from press coverage of the trials). But this would probably have been true of any part that Depp played following this media circus.
Maiwenn makes for a supremely confident and vibrant consort for the sometimes hesitant and reserved king. But there isn’t any chemistry between her and the somewhat pallid sovereign, nor is it apparent why the two fall in love. If the story is to work, we have to believe that the two forge a much deeper bond than he has ever had with any of his many conquests and, other than the fact that Jeanne looks great in whatever she wears, there is little explanation for why they had such an enduring affair.
Another aspect of the film that is perplexing is that Maiwenn, in her mid-40s, is basically a peer of the youthful but 60-ish Depp. In the true story upon which the film is based, the king was more than twice the age of du Barry, who began her affair with him at around the age of 25. There is no reason that the movie should recreate all the facts faithfully, but the dynamic between a 20-something mistress and a 50-something king would have been very different, and possibly more dramatic. Maiwenn is great at all the moments when she has to show her audacity and flout convention, but she seems so strong that she elicits much less sympathy than she might have during her more vulnerable moments and this makes the movie uninvolving at times.
The standouts in the supporting cast are Benjamin Lavernhe (The Sense of Wonder) as the softspoken advisor, who is tasked with preparing Jeanne for life with the king, and India Hair, a distinctive young actress with an equally distinctive name who plays the brattiest of the princesses.
However, the real stars here are not any of the actors but the costume designer, the production designer, and the rest of the crew who made this movie a gorgeous visual feast. The costumes are extraordinarily elaborate and the costumers have reproduced several gowns that played a major part in du Barry’s legend, including a silvery gown that she wore when she made her first official appearance before the king.
Much of the escapist fun comes not so much from the story, but from simply enjoying the lavish gowns and ornate décor, and there is enough of both to keep most viewers occupied, even given the movie’s weaknesses.