CANNES REVIEW: Jeanne du Barry, Maïwenn’s Beautiful Period Drama
French actress, director, and writer Maïwenn (Polisse, Mon Roi) charts into new territory in her first-period film, which opened the Cannes Film Festival with Jeanne du Barry, starring as Jeanne, opposite Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean) as King Louis XV.
Shot mostly in the Castle of Versailles on 35mm film, Maïwenn brings the story of Jeanne du Barry to life as the rags-to-riches lover of King Louis XV, played by Johnny Depp, who impressed Maïwenn with his French after a reported 9-hour first meeting in London where she spoke no English to the American actor. Upon landing the role, Depp was asked to put in some work to master the language of Molière.
Maiwann and Depp star alongside Benjamin Lavernhe, who stars as La Borde, the valet to the king, Melvil Poupaud as Comte du Barry, Jeanne’s husband who basically pimps her out for money to King Louis XV, Pierre Richard as Duc de Richelieu and Pascal Greggory as Duc d’Aiguillon, and India Hair stars as Adélaïde, the king’s daughter.
The film shows the love affair that ensued between the two, and while both Depp and Maïwenn are equally talented, there didn’t seem like there was much chemistry in the pairing. The screenplay is somewhat of a struggle to invest in, but Jeanne’s journey from childhood to one of the largest courts in the land, along with her exuding sexuality and whimsical charms, is something to be noted and is a good story to tell, as she is just as important as some of the men she becomes a master at manipulating. This is something I would give a second watch to for the visuals alone; the film overall had beautiful production (Angelo Zamparutti) with beautiful sets and an amazing soundtrack with a score by Stephen Warbeck (Polisse, Mon Roi). The cinematography was equally stunning by Laurent Dailland. The costumes, hair, and makeup were magical.
This was Depp’s first screen debut after his very public scandalous court case with ex-wife Amber Heard in which Depp was victorious, beating domestic abuse charges; however, not all fans and critics feel he is truly all that innocent. Maiwann is not immune to scandals of her own where she was in the recent news admitting to spitting on a journalist. Despite the scandals, she was welcomed to open the Cannes Film Festival, and both were cheered on by fans.
Someone who was noticeably missing from the Cannes premiere red carpet and who played a major role in the latter half of the film was young actor Yaffa Ibrahim who stars as the younger version of the slave child, Zamor, that King Louis gifted Jeanne in a box, like a new toy. The teen version of Zamor, played by Djibril Djimo, was in attendance. The scenes with the young version of Zamor were brutal to watch as the cast reenacted some of the traumatic and racist behavior that was prevalent during this period. Jeanne appears to defend Zamor, but historically she was at times known to be very mean to him. Not sure how much accuracy was put into Jeanne and Zamor’s relationship, but we do see that coldness at the end of the film when she loses her privilege when the king dies of smallpox and doesn’t give him so much as a hug goodbye. For someone such as Yaffa, who is so young and playing such a traumatic role, one would hope they had proper counselors on set to guide him and give him an understanding of the racism within the role rather than using him like a prop; the scenes were triggering just to watch. His absence from the red carpet seemed blatantly dismissive of a young Black actor, in my opinion, and my sources confirmed, while alleged, he was not invited. It would have been a nod in the right direction to have him there as he gave a wonderful performance along with the remaining cast.
Jeanne Du Barry was released in French theaters the same day as its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16. It will release on Netflix in France 15 months after its theatrical premiere, so the United States may see this around August 2024.
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