Jeanne du Barry - La favorita del re

I really enjoyed this film! The scenery and the costuming, and the love story set in the time period of Louis XV! Johnny Depp is a master at using his eyes, expression and body language to create a feel in the room where each scene happens. Maiwenn did an excellent portrayal of Jeanne, and you could really feel the chemistry between them. In one scene, the king comes in and totally dominates the room communicating such feeling without words. I highly recommend this film. It was easy to keep up with the French dialogue using the subtitles. The music also carries you away,! I highly recommend this film. You Will feel so many emotions!

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.

Initially, i watched the movie for Johnny Deep only, as he is my fav actor (and a crush, of course). My thoughts for this movie is that it will depend on your perspective, and also expectative, while watching this.

First of all: Jeanne Du Barry. Maiwenn casted herself as Jeanne Du Barry, but, as we can see, is not an appropiate casting cos of her age and looks. Du Barry was said to have delicate features; big almond blue eyes, blond hair, fair skin, etc. She was extremely beautiful. She was also about 25 yo when she met Louis XV. When u think about it, Maiwenn is not the best casting for the role. She is way older and has a different type of beauty than Du Barry used to have.

At many moments i thought that Maiwenn over romanticized her character: to be childlike, rebelious but kind, not racist (her portrayed relationship with Zamor in the movie felt disohnest.and unreal) all those things. Why tho? Why not present this historical figure as it was? To please the modern audience? Honestly i dont think so. I do understand as a woman why she would cast herself, but why lie about the character's true self? Fulfilling her own fantasies maybe?

Depp: I love johnny depp and maybe my critics about him are not to be trusted. I mainly watched the movie because of him, and he was as charming as ever (in my eyes). Now, honestly, i guess he did well with what was given to him. Not many lines,simple dialogues, not too much of emotion was given to our guy. He did well. I dont undestand french, so i wont say much about it. But now i gotta go back to Maiwenn: Why did she chose him? I'm sure many other actors could've played the role, as it is not complex at all (not in this movie). A good french actor with the proper looks would have done well too.

Now, the historical details and portrayed extravagance was as good as you can expect from any other historical movie. Good portraying. In the other hand, the real impact their relationship had at the time seemed to be left aside.

In conclusion: If you want historical accuracy, this is not the best choice. If you are looking for a love afair story (with little emotion), go for it. Maybe Maiwenn wanted to live a romantic story alongside Johnny Depp? I dont know, but it feels like it somehow. 'I'm happy he was in this, but it is questionable. Not at all wrong, but curious. Maybe 'i'm thinking too much. The movie was dishonest at many moments, but i did not disliked it completely as my expectations weren't high. It pleased me somehow, despite my critics. It is controversial, but if you ignore history maybe you will like it.

At the end, it does feels like a fanfiction.

Lush and big-budgeted costumer retells life of title role from an illegitimate girl to influential favorite. Epic on life of famous French favorite has Maiween in title role but lacks perspective and historical accuracy , though sets & costumes are excellent , being marketed for a large audience. This is a sympathetic biopic of the 18th-century favorite, the most notorious French courtesan , retelling the iconic figure, as Du Barry (Maiwenn) went on to rise through the Court of Louis XV to become his last official mistress. At the beginning, her lover, the Count du Barry (Melvil Poupaud) , who is getting rich thanks to Jeanne's lucrative gallantry, wishes to introduce her to the King. He organizes the meeting through the intermediary of the influential Duke of Richelieu (Pierre Richard) . This one exceeds his expectations: between Louis XV (Johnny Depp) and Jeanne, it's love at first sight... With the courtesan, the King rediscovers his taste for life - so much so that he can no longer do without her and decides to make her his official favorite.

Delicious eye candy, but lacking in substance, this is a glamorous as well as opulent film of life of 18th century French courtesan filled with agreeable drama , luxurious gowns , impressive palaces but lacks good pace and historical events ; so this story is not historically accurate. Maiwenn captures somewhat essence of title character giving a passable acting. She shines in this enjoyable but uneven, lavish & sadly neglected film .Maiwenn co-writes, directs and stars in this majestic biopic about Jeanne Du Barry, illegitimate daughter of a priest, the most hated woman at the court of Versailles and the favorite of the king, Louis XV, who regained his will to live thanks to this courtesan. We walk through the life of this rebellious woman who broke with the codes of the corseted Versailles of the 18th century, scandalizing an entire country and was always exposed to all kinds of mockery, insults and harassment from those who always wanted to remind her of her origins. Maiwenn decided to make a film about Du Barry, after seeing her character in ¨Sofia Coppola's film Marie Antoinette¨, and also influenced by ¨Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon¨. Maiwenn stated the following: Jeanne Du Barry seduced me because she is a magnificent loser. The movie had hundreds of costumes and lavish set designs . Some gowns became extremely heavy due to the embroidery, flounces and precious stones used . This film is really a historical/"pseudo-historical" drama , with the Versailles Court as the back scenery, for all kinds of entertaining intrigues . Spectacular and colorful scenarios , in fact , crew was allowed to film on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, Yvelines; along with colorful and brilliant cinematography by Laurent Dailland. Adding evocative musical score by composer musical score Stephen Warbeck . The motion picture unevenly written, produced and directed directed by Maiwenn , though she later admitted that this was too much for her, and swore to never direct and star at the same time in a movie again.

The film based on historical deeds and adding more happenings , these are the following: Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 - 8 December 1793). Jeanne Bécu was the illegitimate daughter of Anne Bécu, a 30-year-old seamstress. Jeanne's father remains unidentified; however, it is possible that her father was Jean Jacques Gomard, a friar. She was the last maîtresse-en-titre of King Louis XV of France. She was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution on accusations of treason-particularly being suspected of assisting émigrés to flee from the Revolution. She is also known as "Mademoiselle Vaubernier". In 1768, when the king wished to make Jeanne maîtresse-en-titre, etiquette required her to be the wife of a high courtier, so she was hastily married on 1 September 1768 to Comte Guillaume du Barry. The wedding ceremony was accompanied by a false birth certificate, created by Jean-Baptiste du Barry, the comte's older brother. The certificate made Jeanne appear younger by three years and obscured her poor background. Henceforth, she was recognized as the king's official paramour. Her arrival at the French royal court scandalized some, as she had been a courtesan and came from humble beginnings. She was shunned by many, including Marie Antoinette, whose contempt for Jeanne caused alarm and dissension at court. On New Year's Day 1772, Marie Antoinette deigned to speak to Jeanne; her remark, "There are many people at Versailles today", was enough to take the edge off the dispute, though many still disapproved of Jeanne. Decades later, during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution, Jeanne was imprisoned over accusations of treason by her slave Zamor. She was executed by guillotine on 8 December 1793. Her body was buried in the Madeleine cemetery. The fabulous gems which she had smuggled to London were sold at auction in 1795.

The main kick to see it is represented, no doubts, by Johnny Depp. Who, indeed, is a magnificent Louis XV. But the authentic gift is Pierre Richard in a surprising skin of duke of Richelieu or beautiful portraits of Dauphin and Marie Antoinette. , near the inspired portrait of La Borde proposed by Benjamin Lavernhe. A beautiful film for what you expect to define the beauty in a film about XVIII century. But little more that.

It is a film about seduction and loneliness and pleasure and compromises, lost and rivalry, rejection and life as circle but, in same measure, a fine - precise definition, subtle and some eccentric, of life.

Charming and provocative, not only for music, costumes or atmosphere but for fair reflection of fundamental truths.

In short, just delightful and a great Johnny Depp work.