The cast does an excellent job at creating interesting characters that you want to watch. Leading the cast is the brilliant Johnny Depp, who puts on an absolute acting clinic. He is incredible to watch as he plies his trade before us. The expressions, the little nuances, each facial tic all combining to create a character that goes beyond just acting, it is something to behold. Despite all of this, Depp is a generous actor, simultaneously commanding your attention yet equally adept at being generous with co-stars. His interplay with Samantha Morton's Elizabeth Barry is great. Their exchanges become more and more pointed as her confidence grows and his emotions change. Morton is fantastic, making her character grow and change. John Malkovich is, well, John Malkovich as the King of England. Rounding out our main characters is Rosamund Pike as Wilmot's wife, a woman who is willing to deal with her husband's eccentricities, but she can only go so far.
Bottomline. An intriguing film, not to all tastes, as proven by the walkouts during my screening. Depp gives a fascinating performance, and proves his willingness to un-glamorize himself as the character deteriorates from his disease riddled body. More than that, as much as you wanted to dislike the character, he was alluring, making this movie a must-see. If for nothing other than the lead performance, it is worth the time, but there is a lot to like here.
Recommended.
Article comments
1 - Bliffle
Was it Rochester (or was it Chesterfield?) who wrote: "the posture is ridiculous, the pleasure momentary, and the expense damnable"?
2 - Chris Beaumont
That was Evelyn Waugh.
3 - ex-hedonist
Wilmot reminds me of a character I used to know who used the pick-up line,"Do ya wanna get drunk and hop in the sack?"I asked him if it ever worked and he said,"Only about one time in a hundred,but if you ask 200 women in a night,ya got yourself a pretty busy week."
4 - Dave Nalle
Hey, I knew a guy like that - but his more direct appraoch of 'hey babe, let's fuck' worked about 1 in 20 times at frat parties
Dave