Jeanne du Barry (2023), A Boring and Pointless Historical Farce
Promotion for Jeanne du Barry (2023) was confusing from the start, as all of the posters and teasers featured the bloated, stoic face of Johnny Depp. As the film’s narration began in French, I wondered why Depp, an American with adequate but not altogether impressive abilities in the art of speaking French, would be cast as King Louis XV. But this is just the tip of the iceberg when questioning the many, many terrible decisions that went into Maïwenn’s tedious, directionless, and historically inaccurate recounting of the life of King Louis’ scandalous mistress, Madame du Barry.
It’s strange when a film produced in a country steeped in history and very proud of its historical, cultural, and artistic contributions to the world bungles its own past with such unrepentant fervor. You could learn more about the life of Jeanne du Barry by reading Antonia Frazer’s well-researched book, Marie Antoinette: The Journey, than you ever could from watching this two-hour sleeping pill. I’d like to think that Maïwenn was so passionate about bringing an undervalued character in the final days of the Court of Versailles to life that she insisted on writing, directing, producing, and starring in the film, but she managed to disappoint in virtually every way possible nonetheless.
